Breach Below Lionheart
by Ohh Kiss
Summary: When the rift in the deep Pacific re-opens Stiles Stilinski is recruited into the Jaeger program and lands himself in a cluster of amazing people, dangerous memories and a life he had never imagined himself living. AU! Sterek!
1. Chapter 1

**This is an AU Pacific Rim + Teen Wolf fic. This is my baby, guys. I'm so excited for this that I literally can hardly contain myself. It is almost completely AU so please keep that in mind when you're reading it. Reviews are always appreciated and as always thank you so much for reading. You can find me on tumblr: lion-ness for more updates and major fangirling. **

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Rhode Island was always humid in July, humid enough to make the students attending the esteemed Brown university hide inside their dorms and wish they had taken their family up on the offer to visit home for the summer. The air outside tasted like salt and the wind was stale and uncomfortable when it ghosted across the near empty campus. Stiles was one of those un-lucky students whose internship had been approved during their summer vacation and he was currently walking into Morriss Hall, drenched in sweat and carrying far too many books for two arms to handle. His back hit the door and he pushed it open to step backwards into the air conditioned dormitory. Relief fell across his lips in the form of a soft sigh and amber eyes closed when the rush of cool air bit at the soaked long sleeve shirt he had foolishly chosen to wear. His friends from high school had asked him what it would be like to move across the country and have absolutely no one to fall back on. They had all chosen closer schools or paired off and made adolescent pacts to go off to college together and have an adventure. Stiles was different, though. His answer had always been simple: I'm not a coward. He thought about everyone from time to time; his old lacrosse buddies and how they were probably living the stereotypical college life, full of kegs and decent looking sexual partners and not passing classes that he had already aced in high school. A smirk played across his mouth as he thought about it but his expression dropped when the staircase came into view. It was a daily ritual to thank the heavens that him and Danny were on the second floor of the dorms instead of the twenty-second, because hauling hard-covered literature books up that many flights of stairs would have killed him within his first semester. Even so, walking up to his room after trekking his way through campus wasn't something he was looking forward to, but he shifted the books in his arms and lumbered up to room 213.

"Jesus... this is just," Stiles cursed under his breath as he fidgeted with the doorknob, his arms trembling as he tried to keep the books and folders steady. It had been a long day. A day full of grading essays written entirely in Portuguese and trying to explain to his eighty-two year old professor what Krispy Kreme doughnuts were. He pressed his shoulder against the door and grumbled something about how 'perfect' this situation was and how convenient it was for Danny to not be home but to his surprise the door opened and he stumbled through, papers raining down towards his feet and books slipping out of his grasp to topple onto the carpet. A strong arm wrapped around his shoulder to steady him as Stiles' eyes widened and he tried to regain his balance. Danny laughed when his room mate tilted his head back and heaved an aggravated sigh, swatting Stiles on the back, "I don't know why you always insist on taking the stairs when you know we have an elevator, especially with your strange obsession with carrying, like, every single one of your books everywhere with you." Stiles narrowed his eyes and pushed the black rimmed glasses up on the bridge of his nose before he leaned down to start shuffling the papers back together. "I didn't know you were back from that thing with Laurie yet, how was it? Did you get her brothers number?" Stiles shot a coy smile over his shoulder to Danny who lidded his eyes and shook his head back and forth, burying his head in his hands before he reached down to grab a couple of the books off the floor. "No," he started, licking over his lips, "but I did talk to him for a little bit, he's, uh, he's actually submitting his application for the new Jaeger program." Stiles went rigid and stared at the ground. This was an argument he really did not want to have right now and it was obvious by the way his jaw tightened and his fingers gripped the plastic of the binder in his hand that he would not be having any of Danny's ridiculous ideas thrown at him. He cleared his throat and walked over to the stained oak desk next to his bed and set the papers down, "that's good for him, I'm sure he'll have an awesome career." His room mate chewed on his bottom lip and his eyebrows raised as he nodded, "yeah, man, I bet he will."

The sound of Stiles stacking his books on his desk filled the awkward silence, along with the tapping of Danny's fingers against the keys of his laptop. It was flattering that Danny thought so highly of Stiles, but the idea of him being a pilot was utterly ridiculous. He was in his senior year of college and this was the last leg of his internship before he would be able to start interpreting and translating for large businesses. Besides, after the rift was torn again the program was flooded with eager candidates that looked like Ken dolls and were probably just as ruthless as the Kaiju. They wouldn't have chosen him even if he did apply. He thought back to that first attack more often than he'd like.

It had happened in September, right before his Japanese manuscript was usually busy and up-beat campus had fallen silent when the announcement was made. Stiles remembered it like it was yesterday. He had been sitting behind Bridget Henderson and the perfume she was wearing made his eyes water all through class. It had been nice outside, a warm day, a completely normal blue skied day. But when Ms. Blake walked in clutching her bag against her chest with tears streaming down her face, no one expected to hear the words that slipped from between the poorly applied red lipstick ringing her mouth. It felt like the world stopped for a minute. It had been five years. Five years of peace and celebration. The bones of fallen Kaiju had become part of the scenery and no one ever thought that using them as decoration would come back to haunt the entire population. It did, though. They should have known better. At least, that's what Stiles had always said. The hush that fell between the seats of the lecture hall was enough to get his nerves in a bundle and he had strained to hear the hurried exchange of whispers between his professors. He still wondered if the rest of the class had been thinking what he was thinking. Did another student hang themselves in the dorms or threaten to shoot a bunch of people? Was there a horrible scandal involving a student and a teacher or had a coach been caught persuading the team to juice again? He went through every outlandish situation he could think of and not once had he thought of the possibility that this could be much bigger than the campus problems listed in his head. Their professor was nodding quickly and turned towards her but even he had to catch his breath when she finished her sentence. Ms. Blake's hands were shaking with exaggerated gestures and her mouth hung open, clinging to the last word as it came out loud and choked. "Kaiju."

It was strange that no one moved. Not one person. Stiles stared down at his phone and ran his thumb across it absently. He didn't even really remember what his first thought was after the news broke. He just sat in his uncomfortable seat and looked at his phone like he was waiting for it to ring or for his alarm to go off so he could rationalize how incredibly ridiculous this all was. But it didn't ring and instead of his alarm waking him up it was the sound of his nervous classmates that jarred him back to reality. The memory was blurry after that. He had called his Dad, that was one thing he remembered. Once the words 'Los Angeles' hit his ears he had ran out into the hall and almost broke down in tears when his fathers voice came through the other end of the phone. Stiles winced as he thought back on it and thumbed through the multitude of notes he had collected on German grammar during last semesters class. He remembered how potent the relief was. It cradled him when his back slid down the wall of the hallway and it calmed the burning in his chest when he assured his father that he was fine and told him how much he loved him and took back every snide remark he had made about his father retiring in San Diego instead of Malibu. He had openly thanked God that day, it was the first time he ever had and it was probably the last as well, but he felt it was only appropriate. He sat against that wall for close to an hour, his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He liked to think he wasn't scared back then but looking back on it now he knew he had been trembling. It was that girl from his Freshman Literature class that had shaken him up. He had just ended the conversation with his father when her scream echoed through the hallway. Stiles leaned forward and looked, his eyes trailing across the other on-lookers before finding her crouched on the tile floor with her head in her hands and her fingers fisted in long pretty blonde locks. She screamed and wailed and sobbed for what seemed like hours and not once did Stiles think to go to her. It was surreal. It seemed like even if he had the courage to lift himself up and walk down the hall towards her that the room would only stretch further away. It didn't seem real enough for him to be a part of any of it. He found out two days later that her mother had been killed in the Kaiju attack on Los Angeles. Apparently her parents had been celebrating their fourteen year anniversary at Staples Center and she had been lost in the crowd. Something in him wanted to go to her and tell her that everything would be okay since that's what everyone did for him when his Mom died, but he didn't. He stayed inside and called his father twice a day until classes started back up. It had been a hard few days after the first attack but everything seemed to just fall back into place. Classes resumed and exams were still going to happen and the clock wasn't going to stop ticking even if creatures were digging their way out of nightmares and appearing in the sea. He remembered the sound of that girls screams though, night after night.

Stiles sighed loudly to break the empty silence and set his glasses on his desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut as Danny peeked over the top of his lap top, "have you eaten? I was thinking about making that weird vegetable-wheat-organic pizza thing you insisted on buying." It wasn't like Danny to just let go of that topic so easily but Stiles was grateful and after an agonizing wave of memories and the long day he had suffered through, food sounded nothing less than amazing. It would be useless to study and even more useless to reminisce on nightmares. All that mattered was his up-coming career and the changes he was about to face in life. Goose bumps rose across his arms an he rubbed his palms against them, nodding over to Danny through a small forced smile, "hell yeah, that sounds awesome, but it's not a thing Danny-boy, it's just healthier than ordering from Dominos." Danny wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes, walking over to pre-heat the oven. Stiles grimaced as he peeled his shirt off and tossed it onto the floor, running his fingers through soft unruly brown locks. He eyed himself in the stand alone mirror bolted to the wall across from his bed. He had always been small in high school, lanky legs and thin arms wrapped in pale skin, but that was almost six years ago and since then he had developed into a strong young man. His features were sharper, the small upturned nose set between his eyes still gave him a boyish look but his body had filled out, lean muscles curling underneath the light freckles splattered across his arms and stomach. It was strange to look at himself now and see someone so completely different than the smart-ass kid he had been in Arizona. Times had changed and even though he was still all wit and awkward sarcasm, Stiles had changed too.

The pizza made the entire room smell like green peppers and mushrooms and the two boys salivated as they waited for the oven to ding. Stiles had slipped sweats on and was munching on carrots as Danny flipped through channels on the small flat screen hung on the wall next to the mirror. Deep brown eyes flickered over to Stiles and he raised a brow, pointing at the bag of orange vegetables, "have you always been a health-nut or do you have some secret vegan boyfriend whose making you eat like this because I've been your room mate for like three years and the first thing you showed me at orientation was the exact time it took to melt cheese on top of french fries in the microwave." Stiles crunched down on a carrot and shot a stern glare towards his friend who was grinning back at him. It was the truth, he really hadn't been all that health-conscious before he moved to Rhode Island but after a couple years without lacrosse practice he had started to notice that working out and eating healthy actually made a difference in his life. "Oh, sorry mister fucking Hawaii over there, not everyone has the genes of a Greek god, okay, I kind of have to do these things to look mildly attractive," his facetious remark made Danny's eyes roll dramatically in his skull and he shook his head back and forth. A headline flashed across the television and a pretty blonde woman in a tacky suit read the evening news, touching briefly on events across the globe such as another Kaiju cult that recently indulged in mass-suicide by drinking Kaiju Blue. Stiles winced when they showed the hotel room filled with rotting carcasses leaking noxious blue fluid and bit down on another carrot. Some people literally had nothing left to lose except their minds. Honestly, Stiles couldn't blame them, aliens came from the sea instead of the sky, monsters rose from the depths of our own oceans and we built gigantic robots to bash their brains in. He figured to stay in this world one had to be as crazy as the place he called home and some people just couldn't wrap their heads around that concept. Danny mumbled something like 'freaks' under his breath and almost tripped over himself when the oven finally beeped to let them know their pizza was done.

They muted the TV while they ate and shared stories of their day, Stiles telling Danny about how frustrating it was to try and describe a Krispy Kreme doughnut to an eighty-two year old woman and Danny telling Stiles about how tempted he was to spill his drink all over Laurie's beautiful twin brother. They poked fun at each other like best friends do and they laughed at ridiculous childish things as they dipped each slice of pizza into a cup full of almost expired ranch dressing. "So, like, did you at least flirt with him or anything? I mean the guy's leaving to go battle giant rage beasts and you didn't offer him a parting gift?" Stiles laughed through the last few words and Danny choked on his Guinness, pounding his fist against his chest and wiping at his watering eyes as he tried not to laugh. "No! Are you kidding me, Stiles? I mean, I know I'm smooth but he's going into the Jaeger program... I don't even compare to the people he's-"

"C'mon, Dan, don't cut yourself short," Stiles interjected, dipping a carrot into the ranch before setting it on top of his pizza and taking a bite. He blinked at his room mate when he arched a brow and shook his head, trying his best to ignore the disgusting food combination he had just witnessed.

"I'm not cutting myself short! You know, I mean I would love to get into the program myself but I can't because of my lung condition but..."

Stiles' jaw hardened and he set the last slice of pizza back down on the plate. His eyes shot to the floor and he picked at his nail beds when Danny heaved a frustrated sigh. "Come on, Stilinski! You always talk about how you want to live a life filled with 'memorable instances,'" Danny made sure to curl his finger into air quotes around the words 'memorable instances' which made heat rush to Stiles' cheeks, "you'd be such an amazing pilot, just send in your application, you have nothing to lose, right?"

Stiles picked the piece of pizza back up and shoved it in his mouth, chewing and mumbling incoherent things about his complete lack of physical ability and skills necessary to be in the program. Their conversation had begun to revolve around this topic after a recruiter had set up a booth at the college about a month ago. It had been during the club fair for next fall and now that the rift had broken again, the new Marshall was looking for intellect as well as brutality and apparently Brown harbored many willing candidates. "Just...no," Stiles snapped coldly, wrinkling his nose as he grabbed the dirty plates and walked them over to the sink, purposely turning the water on when Danny opened his mouth to protest. Soft amber eyes fell closed, irritation sliding across his face like sandpaper. The two ridiculously good-looking siblings manning the booth that day had singled the students out as they lazily slid through the crowds at the club fair. Of course Danny was the one they had seen, all tan muscle and distinct features. He 'ooed' and 'awed' at their presentation while Stiles rolled his eyes and absently cleaned the lenses of his glasses. He shook his head when they asked him if he was interested even after Danny blurted that he was the top of his class in Modern World Languages and assured them that he would be a huge asset. Stiles had walked away after a polite but short 'no thank you.' Ever since then Danny wouldn't leave him alone about it, just like now as he walked into the kitchen and tossed his empty beer bottle into the small blue bin next to the fridge. "You know," he said, placing a warm hand on Stiles' shoulder, "it wouldn't just be bad ass, it would be the most rewarding job you could have. You're a genius and you can translate and you can read people better than most psychics. I just wish you'd think about it."

Stiles rolled his eyes and mumbled something about it being just as rewarding as it was dangerous, but that if it would make him shut up, he would think about it. Danny agreed and pinched Stiles' ear, earning an irritated yelp from his room mate who cursed under his breath and flicked water at him as he continued to angrily scrub the dishes. Tomorrow was going to be another long day and thinking about anything other than German adjectives wasn't in his best interest or frankly any of his interests right now. He had four months left until he graduated and those four months were going to set him on a track that would take him smoothly through the rest of his life. Danny was already snoring when he finished cleaning the kitchen and clicked off the TV. His life was so close to starting and as excited as he was it also made Stiles unbearably nervous. The anxiety bit at his throat every night and as he curled himself underneath the heavy sheets on his old creaky bed he tried to fill his mind with random facts - Diphthongs is a combination of two vowels that blend and are sounded together, the Japanese language has only 5 vowels, sanskrit is an indo-european language. Dark lashes fluttered as heavy lids covered his eyes and he took in a deep breath through his nose, exhaling over gently parted lips. He focused on stagnant thoughts, boring misinterpretations of language barriers and then, like any 23 year old, what he was going to have for breakfast. It took a few minutes before he began to softly purr and drift off to sleep, but no matter how many random thoughts he crammed into his head there was always that lingering shadow in the back of his mind that asked him if tonight was the night the sirens would go off or if tonight was the night his phone would ring at his bed side. No matter how normal Stiles tried to make his life, every night before he went to sleep he was reminded that there was a chance he might not wake up in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of vibrations hummed against the wooden desk next to Stiles' bed and he peeled his tired eyes open to greet the day. Streaks of sunlight dripped through the cracks between his blinds and he lazily reached over, slapping his palm against his desk again and again until he reached the noisy device and tapped 'snooze' on the glass front of his phone. It was 8:01 a.m and that meant it was time to go to the gym and then spend too many hours pointing out grammatical errors in ten-page papers for his History of Languages professor. His eyes rested closed for a moment and he breathed in and out through his nose, chest rising and falling in the dimly lit room. Only a few more months of this and then he would be a free man, ready to start his life. He sat up and pawed at his eyes, a yawn spilling over the curve of his bottom lip as he stood and stumbled sleepily into the bathroom.

The gym visit was short and sweet and included a five mile run and a dip in the pool. He tried to make it to the gym at least four or five times a week since, unlike his genetically gifted room mate, he had to keep himself up and running to be somewhat confident in his stature. A white shirt was draped over his torso and blue jeans hung loose on slender hips as he sat in an air conditioned office with stacks upon stacks of papers in front of him. He squinted through his glasses and his nose crinkled as he re-read the same sentence a few times before shaking his head and huffing an irritated sigh. "And to think I wanted to teach at one point, this is absolutely maddening..." he was talking to the silence as he struggled to focus on the task at hand. If there was anything that had changed during high school, it was his ability to stay on point. Almost every single one of his teachers in Arizona had commented on his complete lack of ability when it came to staying on track but as the years went on Stiles calmed down and his so-called ADHD faded into something more along the lines of I-don't-give-a-shit-I'm-bored syndrome. His eyes wandered around the office and he dangled the pen resting between his fingers against his mouth which he absently bit at. His glasses slid down to the tip of his nose and he leaned back, kicking his foot up on the desk. It wasn't even noon and he already wanted something else to do. Anything else to do. He rolled the pen between his teeth and cracked his knuckles. It had to take years of skill and practice to read literally thousands of papers about the same topic without trying to kill yourself and this internship had definitely gave him the opportunity to gain a new level of respect for his teachers. The clock ticked again and again and his eyes continued to be absorbed in everything besides the thirty-something papers he had left to grade. After a few painful minutes he forced himself to grab the next stapled bundle and started reading through it. He kicked his foot across his other leg and leaned back in the chair, setting the paper against his thigh and took the red pen from his lips to jot down a few critiques here and there. The sound of foot steps outside the door jolted him from his casually lounged position and Stiles adjusted his glasses and straightened his back, setting the paper down on the desk and leaning over it to look as professional as he could before Ms. Blake walked in. "I'm going to lunch, Stiles," she smiled softly and gestured to the small stack of graded essays, "you're doing great! If you want a break or anything to go grab something to eat, feel free." His 'thank you' was rushed and he stumbled on one foot around the edge of the desk before walking out the door and back into the humid summer air. It would be a lie if he said he was thankful for the heat but it was better than being trapped by four poorly decorated office walls.

It was Tuesday and that always meant tacos. So, Stiles crossed his fingers and shoved the key into the ignition of his pre-apocalyptic vehicle and hoped the engine responded. "Please, please, please, c'mon baby just, yes, yes, oh thank fucking Christ-" the beast roared to life and Stiles let his head lean back against the old fabric of his thirty-something year old Jeep. The paint was fading and it needed constant care, but his mother had always said that it would be his when he got his license. She never got to see him drive it so now getting rid of the hunk of metal wasn't an option for him in any way, shape, or form. The taco shop was off campus and was a popular hangout for the college kids who wanted cheap good food. He ordered fajita tacos and a side of rice and beans just like every other Tuesday and he ate at a small booth by himself. It was strange to think of all that happened, to think back on his mothers death, which made his stomach turn uncomfortably, and to think about his relatively normal years in high school. He had been so good at ignoring anything that didn't directly affect his life, so much that the death around the globe didn't seem to phase him. It shamed him now to know that he had preferred it that way. Stiles bit down on his taco and chewed slowly as he watched one of the televisions placed in the corner of the small shop. Images flashed of the damage from last weeks Kaiju attack on Hawaii; a category three had made its way to their shores and due to its small size hadn't caused much of a problem. Chromebuster had taken it down, a senior Jaeger with seasoned pilots and a very long list of recent kills. However, the next report made Stiles stop chewing and straighten his back as he stared intently at the screen. A hush fell over the small restraunt and a customer in line asked politely if they could turn up the volume. The bus-boy did so with shaky hands.

A category six. More and more of them had been popping up after the rift re-opened months ago but footage of them was hardly released. It was massive and looked down at the new and improved Striker Eureka in the middle of the ocean like the Jaeger was nothing more than an action-figure. It wasn't a quality recording, that was obvious, but its multiple sets of distinct blue eyes and large curved spikes lining its hide were enough to make Stiles blink his eyes away. The team that took that beast down must have kissed the ground when they got out of their Jaegers alive. Stiles lifted another spoon full of rice to his mouth but was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone on the table. RESTRICTED flashed across the screen and he arched a brow as he picked it up and studied the word like it was something foreign. For one, no one but Danny or his Dad called him, that's what texting was for, and two, no one with a restricted number would have any reason to call him. Unless it was the school in which case he assumed Ms. Blake would have just texted. Stiles' mouth wiggled around and he sighed, sliding the little bar to the left and placing it to his ear, "This is Stiles," the words were soft and airy in the quiet room and he stood to walk outside towards his car. "Is this Stiles Stilinski?" the voice on the other end was warm and rough and it coaxed a small smile to tug at the ends of Stiles' mouth. "Yes," he replied quickly, shoving his wallet in his mouth as he dug in the pockets of his jeans for his keys. "Good. I've looked over your application and I'm interested in meeting you, you have time in the next couple days?" The man on the other end was relaxed and confident, his smile prevalent through the small speaker. Stiles narrowed his eyes and finally opened the door of his car, shaking his head back and forth as he mentally shuffled through all of the different internships he had applied for back in Spring. The only one that hadn't been full was the summer program that the English and Language departments had thrown together, unless he missed one. "Uhm, well, I'm sorry but I'm already involved in a private internship through my school but thank-"

"This is Raleigh Becket, I should have clarified earlier."

Stiles' pupils dilated and his heart slammed against his rib cage. His throat went dry and he dropped his wallet onto the floor of his Jeep, squeezing his left hand into a fist over and over again to try and calm the shaking. "I'm calling on behalf of the application you submitted for the Jaeger program, I'm interested in having you on the team and I'd like to meet with you soon, as soon as you can," Raleigh paused and Stiles hoped he couldn't hear his labored breathing and was thankful he couldn't see the sweat now sliding down his temple. He bit down on his lip, hard, hard enough to fill his mouth with the taste of copper. "Are you-" the pilot was frantically cut off. "Yes, yeah, I'm here, sorry... I," Stiles caught his breath and tried to regain his composure, arching his shoulder up to hold his phone against his ear so he could wipe his sweaty palms against his jeans. He knew who did this. Instantly. It was Danny and that alone made his blood boil. He felt betrayed and blind-sided. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do? This wasn't just some random Jaeger pilot calling to interview him, this was the man who saved the planet from a hostile alien race. Granted, that alien race had risen again, but none-the-less this was Raleigh Becket, not entertaining a meeting with him seemed completely disrespectful. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and fisted his hands in his hair. All the while the other end of the phone sat quiet.

"I... yeah. Okay. Let's meet on Thursday then if that-"

"Works perfect," Raleigh was as smooth as ever and chuckled lightly into the phone. It was apparent that he was used to this kind of reaction when calling people, especially people who literally had no idea and no warning that they would ever be speaking to him. "I'll meet you in the Library at two o'clock," his voice was light and friendly and it threw Stiles for a loop as he continued to try and calm himself down. "A-at Brown? The library at Brown?" Stiles stammered and cleared his rapidly drying throat. The pilot laughed, all rasp and deep heat, "Yes, Mr. Stilinski. The library at Brown. I'll see you then, man." The phone clicked and after a few seconds dull silence was all that greeted him. Stiles sat in the drivers seat with the phone pressed loosely to his ear, his eyes raking across the faded fabric that lined his steering wheel. His hands were shaking and his leg twitched uncomfortably. He took in a deep breath and tried to still the trembling in his chest when he exhaled, gripping his keys tightly between his fingers as he set the thin phone into the cupholder. This will all get resolved on Thursday. He nodded to himself and repeated it out loud, "Thursday," he whispered, twisting the key in the ignition. The Jeep rumbled but sputtered out. Stiles twisted the key again, his lips pursed into a thin line, only to receive the same response. His fists slammed against the steering wheel and his head fell back against the seat, eyes turned up to the roof of the car. "Thursday, thursday, thursday," he continued to mutter under his breath and nodded to himself again, taking in breath after breath. Anxiety burned at his throat and he chewed nervously on his bottom lip, sliding the key into the ignition and turning it again. Soft brown eyes closed and relief washed over him as the vehicle growled and came to life.

He drove back to campus in silence. No radio. Nothing. He drummed his thumbs against the steering wheel in an attempt to hide the tremors running up and down his arms. The feeling was strange, like it was something scripted, a prank, a joke, something so outlandish that it couldn't possibly be real. A frantic laugh was pushed out of his mouth as Stiles pulled into the student parking next to the dorms and he nervously cleaned the lenses of his glasses with his shirt. It had to be a joke. He repeated that to himself, chanted it over and over again in his head as he walked back through the lobby to the office where the rest of his day would be spent. Ms. Blake was back and waved to him as he ducked into the room and sat down in the chair. The red pen was spun between his fingers and he wiggled his nose, taking in a deep breath as his eyes descended back on the stack of essays. His stomach was still in knots and his throat was still dry. It had to be a joke. He swallowed and jerked his head up when someone knocked at the door. Ms. Blake was watching him carefully and tilted her head to the side, "Stiles, are you alright? You're really flushed, you look a bit... shaken," she was careful with her words and arched a brow at his overzealous nodding and exaggerated scoff. "Oh, yeah! I'm totally fine, totally a-okay, no need to worry about me. Just gonna grade these and then finish these and not freak out about anything," he shot a toothy smile to the professor whose mouth was turned down and expression was more concerned than confused. She nodded slowly and backed up, saying nothing as she took her leave back into the lobby. He took in another deep breath and gripped the pen tightly in his hand. It's either a joke or everything would be resolved on Thursday, but no matter, come Friday Stiles was going to go on with his life. The life he had meticulously planned for himself since senior year in high school. He nodded to himself again and picked up the next essay and dove into it with alert caramel eyes, taking his mind to any other place besides the conversation he just had in front of his favorite taco shop.

Stiles lost himself in the pool of Times New Roman and Verdanda and when he finished a wave of nerves washed over him from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. He handed the stack of completed papers back to his professor who smiled and dismissed him for the day. Danny was probably already back at their room and if there was one person that Stiles could go a couple weeks without looking at, it was him. The anger swelled again and he gritted his teeth as he walked back across campus. This wasn't just some dumb club or some reality TV show. It wasn't as if he had covered his bathroom in post-it notes or glued googly eyes to everything in the fridge. This was his life. He paused when he looked at the stairs, thumbs pressed into the front pockets of his jeans. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Someone in his yoga class told him to fall into that pattern to clear negative energy but in this case he didn't quite think a little deep breathing was going to stop the anxiety currently bubbling inside him. He took his time walking up to their room and when he finally stopped he fished for his keys and put his hand on the doorknob. His eyes closed, "I'm going to walk in and he's going to laugh and yell 'April fools' and then I'm going to punch him in the mouth because it's July and we'll laugh and I'll yell at him and everything will be fine," he whispered under his breath, "yes, everything is going to be fine." He opened the door quickly and walked in, setting his keys on the counter next to the sink. Danny was lounged across the small couch with his eyes glued to the television. Stiles stood there for a moment, his hands shaking and lips pursed into a tight thin line. _Get up_. He cleared his throat. _Get up and start laughing_. Danny tilted his head back and smiled, "Hey man, how was grading a million horribly executed essays?" Stiles didn't say anything. He stood in the middle of the room frozen and waited for the big sigh of relief. His room mate quirked his mouth into another smile and arched a brow, "Uhm, so...?" He still said nothing while long bony fingers clenched and un-clenched at his sides. It took a moment for him to calm down, for it to register that maybe the normalcy of this conversation meant that he wasn't the one who submitted his application. Maybe it was Laurie or one of his teachers. Maybe this was all a huge misunderstanding. Maybe he was going to wake up and be in his bed wondering what would bring on a dream like this. "Dude, you're kind of scaring me, can you talk or move or-"

"Raliegh Becket called me today," Stiles blurted, moving to set his glasses down on his desk. The color drained from Dannys face and he could tell by the way his friends mouth dropped open and his eyes darted straight to his feet that he had not been wrong about who it was that submitted his application. Stiles teeth grinded together and he closed his eyes, waiting for some kind of response. Danny looked at the floor and played with the fabric of his gym shorts, "Did you have anything to do with this, Danny?" Stiles asked, voice crisp and direct. It was quiet for a minute and Danny took in a sharp breath, holding his hands up in mock surrender, "I- I honestly didn't think they would call you since you didn't submit yourself but, I mean, Stiles! this is fucking awesome! Raliegh called you himself? That's just-"

Stiles took two steps forward before his fist slammed into the left side of Dannys face. His room mate stumbled backwards and touched his fingertips to the now swollen place on his jaw. Stiles winced and shook his hand back and forth, "Jesus, what the fuck are you made of? It's like hitting a god damn cinder block," he mumbled, huffing an angry sigh and pacing back and forth in the room. Danny didn't retaliate. He didn't say anything, he just sat back down on the couch and rubbed the sore area of his face. Stiles paced for a few minutes, mumbling about his hand and how stupid Danny was until finally he stopped, "This is my life, Danny. My life. It wasn't your right or your place to go out and submit my application, my transcripts, I mean how did you even get my information? Seriously?" He didn't expect to be this calm but the pain from punching someone who felt like they might be made out of concrete seemed to satiate his need for some kind of release. Danny looked to him and shrugged, taking his hand off his face as he gestured to Stiles' laptop, "You left your shit open the day of the fair because you sent in an online order for that stupid life-sized light saber thing you saw all the geeks running around with next to the Cosplay booth so I just jotted it down. I bribed the admissions guy for a copy of your transcrips." Heat filled Stiles' cheeks and he set his hands on his hips, "Watch your mouth, Star Wars is not stupid and I'm ashamed to hear you say that, Danny, really I'm a little hurt that you- okay! _Way _off subject! So you just thought, 'hey, I'll fuck with my best friends life for no apparent reason because I can't get into the Jaeger program myself_ hardy fucking har har_?!' You literally went against everything I've said and wanted and took a choice away from me and-"

"Just tell them no then! Go ahead and waste the opportunity of a life-time and go be a translator and live a mundane, mediocre life in some other state pretending like the things that are happening in the world aren't actually happening. Go ahead, Stiles. Be a coward."

He suddenly felt the need to do more than just punch Danny in the face again but he didn't, he just stood there shaking with his bottom lip pinched painfully between his teeth. "I'm not a coward because I don't want to save the world, Danny," his voice was low and he shook his head back and forth, "I just don't want this and I expected you to respect that rather than jumping through hoops to try and live vicariously through me!"

They stared at each other for a while, Danny still seated on the couch and Stiles standing next to his bed with his hands shoved in his pockets and his body rocking back and forth on his heels. Both of them had said things to hurt the other. To prove a point. But right now taking what each other said into consideration wasn't on the table and Stiles audibly sighed and sat down on his bed, lazily pulling his shirt up and over his head. "I'll take care of this on Thursday since apparently he's coming to talk to me," he muttered as he looked across to Danny who was trying to subdue the childish smile creeping across his mouth. "_What_?" Stiles hissed, fumbling angrily with his socks. "It's just really cool," Danny squeaked, his lips finally spreading into a toothy smile, "Whether you like it or not you have to admit that the fact that Becket is coming out here just to see you means you're kind of meant to do this." Stiles stared out the window, straining to focus on something else besides the words sliding over Dannys lips. He made a point, a point that Stiles had tried again and again to dissect and dismember. "No, he's coming here because I couldn't be disrespectful and decline his invitation to meet seeing as he plunged a giant fucking robot into the ocean and got sucked into another dimension to save the world. Kind of hard to say no to him," his words were cold and angry and Danny rolled his eyes. It wasn't worth the time to fight about it anymore, to argue their opposing opinions and bash heads again and again. Stiles would deal with this as politely and as quickly as he could and that was that. The night went on casually, with Danny trying his best to keep his mouth shut and with Stiles trying his best to concentrate on his Japanese literature without thinking about the very good point Danny had made. Why did they want him...? What about him was so intriuging that they sent their best to greet him? He was just some college kid from Arizona with a good GPA and a witty mouth. Nothing about him was draped in glory and nothing about him said 'American hero.' As he laid his head down against the pillow and closed his eyes he heard a quiet 'I'm sorry' from across the room. Dannys back was facing him and instead of saying anything back Stiles threw a closed half-empty water bottle at him and they both chuckled in the darkness. He knew as he closed his eyes that he wasn't cut out for this and the last thing he thought of before he drifted off to sleep was how exactly he was supposed to say that to the man who saved humanity.


	3. Chapter 3

**Just so you guys know, this story is also posted on AO3 which is where my permanent home will be when it comes to all my writing. Please check me out over there my username is lion_ness, but as always thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

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"Stiles, seriously, you look fine. You've changed nine times now, I don't think he's going to care about your outfit."

Danny rolled his eyes when Stiles shot him an irritated glare and continued to fish through his closet. T-shirts and flannels littered the room accompanied by numerous pairs of pants and multiple pairs of Vans. His nerves were getting the best of him and his anxiety had been climbing for the past two days. It was one thirty in the afternoon on Thursday and in a half an hour Stiles would be face to face with an international war hero. He huffed and puffed about how ridiculous he was going to look and tore the shirt he was wearing off to replace it with a long sleeve black shirt. He fidgeted and fumbled with the buttons before he smoothed it out over dark jeans. "You know, Danny, I'm about to meet the man that nuked an alien race, okay? I at least want to look slightly presentable when I tell him I don't want to pilot for him." He looked at himself in the mirror and tugged at his hardly-styled hair before pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. Between the anger still aimed at Danny and the anxiety swelling in his gut he was having a hard time deciphering what exactly he was feeling and that made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Wear your docs," Danny piped from the other end of the room, "the little ankle ones that you got from your Dad last Christmas." Stiles arched a brow and his mouth quirked to the side before he ducked into his closet and pulled out the 8-eyelet boots and nodded over his shoulder to his friend who looked as calm as could be. The smug smile he had sported all day made Stiles want to punch him again but the ache in his hand told him that (it) probably wasn't the smartest idea. He slid the boots on and tied them slowly, glancing up at the clock above the TV. One forty-two. The breath in his throat caught and came out low and shaky. Stiles had gone over everything he was going to say in his head, from the apology to the over-whelming expression of gratitude. He would shake his hand and tell him that (it) was all a huge misunderstanding and he was so sorry for the inconvenience. He would thank him for the opportunity and let him know that it just wasn't for him and he knew that there was another candidate who would be honored to pilot a Jaeger. It would be horrible and embarrassing and completely ridiculous but it would also be quick and as painless as he could possibly make it. He would walk out and get back on the track he was supposed to be on, the one where he translated for multi-billion dollar companies and brought in enough money to live comfortably in Colorado or Tennessee. It would all be resolved and he would put this awkward situation behind him. "You alright?" Danny(')s voice pulled him out of his head and he jerked his chin to the side and nodded, "Oh, yeah, yeah I'm good just... trying to figure out how I'm going to do this," his words were faint and all-too honest. He saw Danny look away and fiddle with his fingers and Stiles turned his gaze back to his reflection. He reached up and poked gingerly at one of the more prominent freckles next to his mouth, an audible sigh filling the silent room. "I should probably walk over there," he said softly, grabbing his phone and keys from his desk. His ears were ringing and his eyes settled on Danny who smiled shyly at him and nodded, "Good luck, man." Luck wasn't what he needed at this point, right now he needed courage and something to stop the shaking in his hands.

The walk across campus was slow and tolling, his boots scuffing across the ground as he went. He passed a couple other students and focused on the sound of their foot steps instead of the sound of his heart beat and took in a deep breath when the Rockafeller Library materialized before him. Stiles looked at the doors and saw his reflection look back at him. It was one fifty-seven and as he opened the door he felt his insides clench and twist, his heart skipped and sputtered and his mind was still trying to put together something adequate to say. It was dimly lit inside, like it always was, and books lined the shelves on every wall. A few desks with computers were set up along the isle and the large space was completely empty except for three figures seated at the cherry wood tables at the end of the room. Stiles walked forward with his head held high and forced himself to swallow the lump of uneasiness growing in his throat. His boots echoed against the smothering quiet and the hair on the back of his neck stood up as the scene he had been preparing himself for came into clear view. Two men in sharp black suits stood at the end of the table and stepped aside when Stiles approached. His mind was shaking just as badly as his body and his glasses were sliding to the tip of his nose as his fingertips brushed against the polished table top, tapping gently, "Hello." It was all he could manage to say as he looked down to the man sitting at the table. A beaten up bomber jacket was slung over his shoulders and his eyes were bright and much too comfortable as they flicked up to Stiles. A warm, inviting smile creased across Raleigh's face and he stood, reaching out to shake Stiles' hand. "It's nice to meet you, Stiles," his voice was rough and deep but it made Stiles feel much more at ease to be around someone who was as down to earth as Raleigh seemed to be. Amber eyes watched the pilot carefully and Stiles tried his best to offer up a smile and nod, "Yeah, it's an honor to meet you," he was surprised that his voice carried any kind of strength but it did and he sat down across from Becket and folded his hands on the table to keep from fidgeting. Raleigh smiled with his eyes and exuded a natural kindness that made Stiles feel even worse about not telling him on the phone that he wasn't interested in the program. A few minutes went by before Raleigh cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, licking lazily across his lips, "So, you wanna be a pilot?" the words were blunt and a chill ran up Stiles' spine as the silence swallowed them whole. Every single rehearsed statement he had lined up went right out the window and he was left stringing together words that didn't even make sense or explain the situation in the slightest. His mind was just throwing out a slurry of 'I'm sorry' and 'this is all a big mistake' but making some kind of excuse like the ones currently registering as valid in his head would only come across as completely asinine.

Stiles bit down on his bottom lip and tried his best not to look taken a back, "Well, you see, I actually... My uh, my room mate actually did this thing and- wow. I am... this is not even going to come out right but-"

"Relax, man. I'm not going to shoot you," Raleigh arched a brow and rolled his eyes playfully, waving a finger for Stiles to continue. Blood rushed to fill his cheeks and Stiles swallowed, unfolding his hands to drum his fingers against the top of the table. "My room mate submitted my application. I wasn't interested in being a pilot and I feel like a complete idiot right now," his words were rushed and he stared at the table for a long moment before peeking up at the man across from him whose expression had hardly wavered. An endearing smirk still cradled his mouth and his eyebrows were still raised as he nodded his head and waved his finger again as if Stiles had more to say. He blinked a few times, reached up to take his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm really sorry. I didn't know what to say and I just choked I guess, I didn't know how to say no and I'm honored, really I am, it's just..." his words failed and faded out into the air. The library smelled like old books and printer ink and it took his mind off the excruciating situation he had currently found himself in. Confidence seeped out of Raleigh like it was some kind of pheromone and Stiles found himself completely baffled at how unresponsive he was to such weak excuses. The ringing in his ears was deafening and he kept blinking away from Raleighs unmoving stare, "You're a World Language major, yeah?" the question was more of a statement and Stiles nodded dumbly before the pilot continued, "and you lost your mom a while ago. High school right?" Stiles visibly stiffened and his eyes narrowed dangerously. That wasn't something he had wanted or even slightly prepared himself to discuss and the anger pressing into his expression made Becket tilt his head to the side and nod slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, she died when I was fifteen and I don't really know exactly what that has to do with any of this seeing as I'm formally declining your offer," Stiles hissed and picked his glasses back off the table to clean them nervously with the tail of his shirt. His heart was beating fast and he could feel waves of heat soaking through to his bones as he tried to calm himself down. Him and his own father didn't discuss the passing of his mother, he wasn't going to sit here and let someone else try to get into his head about it. Not even the man who saved the planet.

"No need to get routey, Stilinski, I was just mentioning a few things I saw in the paper work," Becket was calm and patient and he blinked a few times as Stiles looked away and stared off at a book shelf a couple feet away. "Are we done here or are you going to keep asking me questions even though I literally just told you I'm declining your offer?" Stiles was angry. Angry from the trickle of memories filling up his head and angry from the overwhelming feeling of complete intrusion on his personal life. His mother's death had nothing to do with his abilities and she most certainly had no place in this conversation. The smile that Raleigh sported made him even more on edge and Stiles rolled his eyes and started chewing on one of his nails. "You have an amazing skill set and your transcripts are untouchable by many of the other candidates. We aren't just looking for brute strength anymore, we're looking for intelligence. I'd like you to re-think your decision."

Stiles raised his brows and gritted his teeth, "Well I'd like you to never bring up my mother again and tell me exactly what my _amazing _skill set could be used for while piloting a giant fucking robot?" His words were snide and he set his glasses back on his nose and wiggled it, earning a chuckle from the man sitting across from him. "Jaeger," he corrected firmly, "and we can use you for programming and deciphering language recognition when it comes to the Kaiju. You're minor was Ancient Languages so we figure you can put that to use."

Stiles didn't want to be intrigued or to be interested in the slightest but something in his gut was wrenching forward and he bit back down on the insides of his cheeks to keep himself at bay. "You want me to analyze the unidentifiable screeching and howling of the alien race we're trying to exterminate...? That's my use? You're _serious_?!" When he laughed Raleighs handlers looked over their shoulders before turning back towards the front of the library. Becket nodded and shrugged his shoulders, moving forward to set his elbows on the table, "Yes, actually," he started, looking over to Stiles, "You'll pilot a Jaeger and you'll research the Kaiju in regards to their vocals, try to figure out if they have a way of communicating that isn't just telepathic." Stiles blinked down and fidgeted under the table, his fingers pinching at each other nervously. His life had suddenly come to a screeching halt and everything he had worked for became vital in a way he had never even considered. This wasn't his plan, this wasn't what he was supposed to do with his life or what he even remotely wanted to do with his life. He was a simple young man with a life ahead of him that most people would dream of, a life of normalcy and comfort. It was something people strived for these days and he was only four months away from obtaining it. Raleigh kept his eyes on Stiles as he mentally fought with himself before a few minutes went by and he tapped his finger on the table, snatching Stiles' attention back where he needed it, "You have the chance to use your skills to save humanity. The chance to do something that a hundred thousand other candidates are going to be denied. We all have fear," Raleigh paused when Stiles looked up at him and his mouth parted slightly, "and we all have regrets and weaknesses. But we also have the ability to become greater than that fear, that weakness." Stiles swallowed and shook his head to keep himself from blurting out a bunch of stupid excuses and even more apologies, "I just..." He looked down at the table and winced when he saw a drop of blood pooling around his cudicle from the nervous picking. Raleigh nodded and gave a heavy sigh before he waved to the two men and stood. He watched Stiles carefully, from the blush spread across his cheeks and nose to the repeated tap of his boot against the floor. "If you don't think you're cut out for it then there's nothing I can do to convince you. I'm not looking for pilots who can't even see their own worth," Becket gave Stiles a brief smile and shrugged his shoulders before turning his back to walk towards the glass doors at the other end of the library.

Stiles' heart was beating so hard in his chest that it was almost painful and his lungs were constricted so tight that every breath seemed rushed and short. His thoughts were fighting viciously with each other and he didn't know how to say anything. He didn't know how to say 'okay' or 'you're right' or 'I'm scared.' He just sat there starring down at his blurred reflection in the overly polished wooden table. He could hear their footsteps clicking across the tile and before he had a chance to re-think the words dancing on the tip of his tongue his voice had broken the silence. "I'm not a coward," he called, standing and pacing towards Raleigh who had stopped and glanced over his shoulder. The pilot grinned and nodded, looking to Stiles who was biting down on his bottom lip once again. His fingers trembled but he pulled them in and fisted his hands at his sides, "I'll do it. I accept." The words escaped him before he could reel them back in and his stomach knotted and clenched. He didn't know whether it was immediate regret or excitement that washed over him, but something was pulling and tugging at his emotions. Raleighs hand fell across Stiles' shoulder and he gripped softly, strong eyes locking on to his own. He probably looked like a deer caught in the glow of headlights, like a scared animal waiting to go to slaughter but he straightened his back and tried to feign as much strength as he could. "This is something you'll never forget, something a lot of people will never forget," Becket paused and removed his hand when Stiles shoved his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans, "Your flight leaves Sunday morning, just tell them at check-in who you are and you'll be escorted through. Get some sleep on the plane because you'll start training as soon as you get to Shatterdome." Stiles didn't know if Raleigh had been expecting him to say yes in the end or if he was just being short because he had somewhere to be, but all he did was nod and let a faint 'thank you' slip from between his lips. It didn't register what exactly Becket had said until they were opening the doors and walking down the steps. "W-wait, wait, _Shatterdome_? Hong Kong, you're sending me- I'm going to _Hong Kong_ to train?!" Stiles tried to keep his breathing even and the shocked expression on his face at bay but Raleigh nodded and reached out to shake Stiles' hand again, "Yeah, Hong Kong. You'll be with the big guns. I wanted you stationed with Mako and I so we could coach you." His cheeks flushed again and Stiles tried to nod his head and stammered out and 'okay' and another 'thank you' as Raleigh laughed lightly and pushed Stiles' shoulder with his palm. "Don't worry, man. You'll be fine. I'll see you next week," steel blue eyes turned away from him and Stiles stood in front of the library with his eyes darting over the faded 'gipsy danger' logo on the back of Raleighs jacket. The pilot climbed into a sleek black car and dissapeared down the road and off campus.

Stiles hadn't realized how badly he was shaking until he walked quickly back to Morriss Hall and leaned against a shady wall. Adrenaline coursed through him and it felt like static every time he brushed against anything. They could have sent him to New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii, to the base in Montreal or Portland but instead he was about to be shipped off the China where Striker Eureka and Gipsy Danger's new models had been re-designed and where the best pilots around the world had been stationed. He had never heard of some entry-level student going off to train in Hong Kong. "What the fuck..." the words were whispered and he set his hands on his thighs, hanging his head low as he tried to catch his breath. He moved up and smoothed his hand over his mouth, letting it fall back to his side. This was a disaster. A horrible, tragic disaster that he did not want to deal with. Everything he had worked for, all the years spent busting his ass in college all led up to this irrational decision he had made based on two insignificant words that kept flashing in his mind. _What if. _The entire time Raliegh spoke that was all he could hear, all he could see, and in the end it was that tiny phrase that had pushed him far enough to completely eradicate every plan he had made for himself. Stiles took in a deep breath and looked up to strain his eyes against the rays beaming down from the sun. In three days his entire life would change forever and in three days he would take a risk that just hours before had been unacceptable. He leaned off the wall and pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking away from the blinding light to the glass screen. He scrolled slowly through his contacts before he stopped and ran his thumb across the screen. DAD was spelled out in large letters and a number was set below it next to an e-mail and a picture of the two of them from Thanksgiving. He felt his eyes fill with tears but bit back the urge to let them fall and lifted the phone to his ear. It rang a few times before his fathers low voice sounded through the speaker. It was a dull 'hello' and Stiles choked when he tried to return the greeting. He explained everything, the situation with Danny, the phone call and the meeting. His voice shook when he told his father he had accepted and was relieved when the retired sheriff did nothing but praise and support him. They talked and laughed for what seemed like an hour but as the conversation winded down he heard the breath catch from other end of the phone and Stiles reached up to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. "You're still coming out to see your old man for Christmas, right?" Stiles didn't want his father to hear the quiet sob caught in his throat and he let the phone drop, biting down on his lip and taking in a shaken gulp of air, "Yeah, Dad, of course. Of course I'm still coming home for Christmas..." Both of them knew they were fighting back tears but neither of them were going to admit it so they exchanged heart felt 'I love yous' and his father made him promise that he would call as much as he could. "I'm so proud of you," his father breathed out and Stiles closed his eyes and smiled softly before mumbling a quick 'talk to you later'.

He could only imagine what his father was going through. His only son had just informed him that he was going off to war and not just as some translation specialist but as a Jaeger pilot and in the end everyone knew what happened to most of the pilots over-time. Some survive and go on to continue the legacy, but most are lost in battle with the Kaiju. A chill ran up his spine and he cleared the scratchy dryness from his throat. But _what if _he was one of the pilots who survived, _what if _he made a difference, _what if _this was his chance to become something greater than he had ever thought imaginable. It had hurt more than he thought it would to hear his father sound so heart-broken when he asked if he would be home for Christmas because both of them knew that right now the answer wasn't on the table.

The trek up the stairs and back to his room was slow and filled with thoughts about what was going to happen, where he was going to go and everything he was going to learn. How utterly confused he still was about how easy it was for him to throw his future off a cliff and into the unknown was also a huge part of what was playing on his mind. The idea still made him exceedingly uncomfortable but there was nothing he could do now and as much as he wanted to convince himself he would take it all back based on principal, realistically the excitement settled in his bones was far too strong for him to think of going back. Danny was grabbing a cold bottle of water out of the fridge when Stiles opened the door and he narrowed his eyes when he looked a little closer at his room mate. "I figured it'd be hard but... are you okay? You look like you were crying," Danny's voice was soft and he took a step forward when Stiles aggressively batted at his eyes and took off his glasses. He walked passed Danny and over to the mirror where he groaned and rolled his eyes at the sight of his puffy optics and flushed blotchy cheeks. "Well, I was a little bit," Stiles wasn't going to lie to his best friend and he took in a deep breath, arching a brow, "I cried when I called my Dad and explained everything to him." The confusion on Danny's face subsided when a smile tugged at the corners of Stiles' mouth and he laughed with his whole body, pointing a finger and walking forward, "I knew it! I told you! God, man, are you serious? You're going?!" Stiles nodded and laughed when Danny threw his arms around him and pulled him into a warm hug. The night went on with Danny sticking his tongue out at Stiles and yelling over and over again about how amazing everything would be and how he had to keep in touch no matter what. Stiles rolled his eyes so much that they were sore and tired. They drank a couple cheap beers and Danny rambled about anything that had to do with Jaegers or China and even insisted on throwing a going-away party for him. Stiles vehemently argued against it but in the end he knew that it was inevitable. As the two turned off the lights and Stiles crawled into his bed he stared up at the ceiling and wondered about what life now had in store for him. For the last six or seven years he had just known exactly what steps he would take, he knew exactly where he would go, what he would do. Now there was a void of darkness where his future used to be and he had to muster up the courage to walk towards it with his head held high.

* * *

The next couple days had gone by fast, in a blur of frantic packing and meticulous planning. Stiles looked out the window of the plane and mouthed the words to the song playing through the speakers in his head phones. The going-away party that Danny put together was pleasant and heart felt. Laurie, her brother, some of his classmates and a few of their friends got together and hopped around the bars outside of campus. They talked loudly and laughed until they cried, Laurie kissed Stiles on the mouth before the night ended and even though he didn't swing in her direction, he kissed her back. He closed his eyes and turned up the music to try and drown out the all-too fresh memory of Danny clinging to him and crying into his shoulder about how he would keep in touch and promised to write long hand-written letters because no one did that shit anymore and he wanted Stiles to know how much his friendship meant. Stiles cried too and they stood in their dorm for a long time just laughing and crying as they made promises to each other that they both know might not be kept. A flight attendant tapped him gently on the shoulder and he pulled one of the headphones out of his ear, "Sir, we'll be landing shortly, is there anything you needed? Would you like another drink?" He shook his head and offered a smile, "No, thank you," Stiles murmured and handed her the empty glass from the cup holder next to him. The clouds were dark gray and spread out evenly across the night sky. He hadn't expected to be flying first class nor to be escorted through the airport by the same two men in suits that he had seen back in the library with Raleigh. He tried to ask them their names but they simply shuffled him along and sat in the back of the plane with magazines in their laps. Stiles didn't push them for any information and instead focused on his ridiculous anxiety and tried to find ways to keep himself calm. Bastille was working at the moment and he fell right back into mouthing the words as the stewardess walked away and he slid the headphone back into his ear.

He didn't know what to expect. His mind wandered from one place to another as he thought back on his last few hours in Rhode Island. Stiles had told his teachers about his sudden change of heart and received nothing but encouragement from each of them but it still didn't make him feel completely comfortable with the reckless decision he had made. His eyes flicked up to the over-head where the seat belt sign flashed on and he wrapped his head phones around the thin MP3 player laying on his thigh. A scratchy voice came across the speaker asking that the passengers fasten their seat belts and prepare for their descent into Hong Kong. It had been a sixteen hour flight and as nervous as he was, Stiles was itching to get his feet on the ground. Amber eyes peered out the window as they cut through the clouds and his breath caught in the back of his throat when the city lights began to blink awake out of the darkness. Tall sky scrapers reached towards the moon and soon the entire city came into view, fluorescent lights lined buildings and he could see the tiny flicker of headlights from crowded streets and highways. His skin prickled into goose bumps as his eyes trailed across the large white bones jutting out of the street and between buildings where a Kaiju had fallen years ago. They were massive and ominous and they reminded him that this was war- war against creatures bred by a race of beings that the world knew nothing about, and they were ruthless. The runway came into view and his body jolted slightly when the tires hit the asphalt. Stiles inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth again and again. This was real and as the seat belt sign flashed off and the other passengers began to shuffle with their belongings Stiles sat un-moving in his seat. He swallowed nervously and glanced to the back row of seats where the nameless men stood and walked towards him. _Get up. _His legs were trembling as he tried to flash a smile to the handlers, raising his brows, "So, uh, I guess you're leading the way?" One of them nodded and gestured towards the exit of the plane. Stiles bit down on the inside of his cheeks and his heart fluttered in his chest as they walked through the hollow docking. He let a sigh of relief fall from his lips when they finally entered the busy airport.

Hong Kong International was large and people from all corners of the world paced and hurried to try and catch their flights. "A car is waiting for you, we will escort you out and collect your things. Your luggage will be waiting for you in your room at Shatterdome when you get there, Mr. Stilinski," the taller of the two men nodded towards Stiles as they were waved towards the exit. A few hushed whispers were exchanged between a young couple as they passed by which made heat rise into Stiles' cheeks. "Oh, yeah, alright, thank you... I mean, I can get my stuff myself it's-"

"That won't be necessary."

Stiles' brows arched and he shrugged while he pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. He wasn't going to argue when he was in a strange country, about to be shuttled off to a base where the most talented Jaeger pilots were stationed and trained. Anxiety swelled in his gut as they opened the doors for him and pointed him in the direction of a black town car with a driver waiting patiently at his door. He was too nervous to ask questions and too stuck in his head to worry about anything besides forming a sentence when he got to the base. They hadn't given him any instruction for what he should do upon his arrival or who he should consult when he got there and that alone terrified him. A car horn made him jump in the back seat and a set of soft wrinkled eyes peeked at him in the rear view mirror, "你还好吗?" Stiles was caught off-guard for a moment but answered, clearing his throat when his voice came out broken and squeaky, "Yeah, I'm fine, uhm - 是的，我没事..." The man nodded and Stiles went back to gazing out the window to the busy streets. Lights streamed across the windows of crowded apartment buildings and people on bicycles raced across the sidewalks. Shops were stacked on top of each other and buildings were so close to one another that they had no room to breathe. His lip was raw from blunt teeth gnawing reluctantly on the sensitive flesh and he switched to picking at his nails as they made a sudden right down a deserted road away from the city and towards the coast. A gate was the first thing to greet them and Stiles listened as the driver jabbered something to the guard who waved them through without protest. He had said a few things about Stiles being Raleigh's new recruit and assumed these drivers were well-briefed and privately employed by the Marshall if they just let him drive through without a second thought. It was dark but he strained his eyes to see the looming hangars scattered around the area. Lines of cars were parked in a parking lot out front and a few people wandered around the grounds. It was hard to make out exactly what was what but that thought was cast from his mind as the driver parked and slid out of the drivers seat. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut and took in a couple deep breaths. "You are not a coward. You are _not _a fucking coward." The words were whispered to himself before the door opened and he took a shaky step out of the car.

Relief flooded through him when he saw a familiar tall blonde walking towards the car, "Stiles, how was the flight?" Raleigh put a hand on his shoulder and Stiles smiled through a nod, "It was extremely long. I haven't spent that much time in one designated place in a while." Becket gave a throaty laugh and Stiles bit down on his cheek to stop the tremble in his arms. The buildings were larger once he stood in front of them and as he raked his eyes across each one he felt the air come out of him in a breathy sigh. Raleigh nodded, "It's a lot to take in at first, I know, but c'mon. We have to get your paper work done and your medical taken care of." Stiles was trying desperately to keep a hold of himself as he followed the pilot through a large metal door on the side of one of the buildings and choked on the air in his lungs as it slammed behind him. It was astonishing to think that a week ago he would have never thought he would be there with his feet firmly planted on polished linoleum floors and his eyes frantically trying to take in everything in the gigantic room. The ceiling seemed to be miles away and grated metal walkways with staircases wrapped around the building at different levels. A few people were walking the floor, some carrying tool boxes and others barking at each other with clipboards in their hands. However, what stole his attention indefinitely were the metal beasts crowding the room. The Jaegers were amazing pieces of technology and each of them looked more powerful and un-godly in person than he had ever imagined. Striker Eureka was stationed to the left with a crew of technicians working on the damages from the last Kaiju battle. Gipsy Danger stood to the right of Striker, poised with a rustic, classic design. Chromebuster was there as well, along with the lone Lionheart hidden in the shadows, standing idly as a few workers shined the jagged chest piece that the old-school Jaeger sported. They were beautiful and Stiles saw Raleigh smile out of the corner of his eye as he watched his new recruit gawk at the four guardians, his mouth parted slightly as Stiles reminded himself again and again to breathe.

"You'll get to know them all pretty well, but we'll have to see which Jaeger you'll be driving after we get you paired up with a co-pilot." He watched Stiles blink a few times and nod slowly, processing the information that he had neglected to think about until that moment. Stiles would have to let another human being into his head, he would have to share their memories, their pain, their life. He ran his fingers absently through his hair and tried his best to ignore the anxiety twisting in his chest. Raleigh led him up a flight of stairs and through another large metal door. A few people passed and he got a couple smiles, one from a pretty brunette with a tool belt wrapped around her waist and another from a nurse carrying a cardboard box full of empty vials. "So, basically, tonight you'll be signing a bunch of shit and getting a bunch of shots," he smiled over his shoulder at Stiles who tried his best to smile back. The walls of the facility were bare and cold and Stiles' heavy boots echoed down the hallway. Raleigh continued to chirp encouragement at him and explained the reason for the medications as they walked into a sterile room with blinding white walls and a matching white floor. Stiles had to squint and stopped for a minute to look around, thrown off by the complete lack of distinguishability between the floor and ceiling. A few clean white beds were spaced out along the open area and things became more clear when he made out the stark white cabinets that lined one of the walls. A polished metal tray stood at the foot of one of the beds and Raleigh gestured for Stiles to sit, "Once you're done here a nurse will walk you down to your room. Go ahead and get comfortable, relax, un-pack. The clock has been pretty spot-on for the passed few weeks so we shouldn't have a breach for the next couple days." Stiles didn't know what to say, he didn't know if he should nod dumbly like he had all night, ask a question or thank him again. Stiles was completely lost. Raleigh had his thumbs hanging through the belt loops of his jeans and he licked across his bottom lip as Stiles continued to fidget, "I know..." his words were rough and warm and they coaxed Stiles to look up over the rim of his glasses, "I know that this is fucking horrifying and over-whelming and that's why I'm giving you tonight to collect yourself. Get it out of your system, man." Stiles let a pent up breath be released from his constricted lungs and a weak smile pulled at the edges of his mouth, "Thanks... This is just a wee bit foreign to me," Stiles muttered, absently scratching his head as he looked to Raleigh who nodded back and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, well have fun getting stuck with a bunch of needles and get some rest because tomorrow," he paused as he walked backwards towards the front of the room, his tongue pinched between his teeth in a boyish grin, "tomorrow you start combat training." Raleigh waved two fingers at Stiles as he rounded the corner, stumbling into a nurse and laughing an apology as he placed his hands on her shoulders to help her regain her balance.

Stiles watched him leave and the familiar bite of dread crept up his legs and into his stomach. It was strange but Raleigh made him feel at ease, and now that he was alone he felt completely stripped and vulnerable. It wasn't a feeling he was used to and it certainly wasn't pleasant but he tried his best to smile at the nurse, "Hi," his voice was meek and shallow, "I guess you're the one who gets to stick me with something sharp, huh?" The care-giver was a short woman with ghost white hair and deep brown eyes. She was thin and Stiles could see the sharp cut of her collar bones resting below her long pale neck. "Yes, sir, I am," her words were playful and her chapped lips creased into a smile. Stiles laughed nervously and folded his hands in his lap, "My name is Harmony, you don't have to call me Nurse this or Nurse that. It's not going to be too bad, but you will be a little drowsy after the last shot I give you so don't be alarmed when you start getting tired once we get you to your room." He nodded and relaxed as his feet dangled off the edge of the bed, toes dragging shallowly across the reflective white floor. Harmony was kind but it didn't stop Stiles from being curious about each medication and as she loaded up the first syringe he cocked his head to the side and raised a brow, "And dose number one is...?"

The nurse laughed and flicked her index finger, "Off with it!" Her voice came out in a laugh and Stiles clutched at his black shirt. "M-my shirt?" he stammered and couldn't keep himself from spitting out a sarcastic laugh, "Where you gonna put that thing, anyways?" She rolled her eyes and tapped at her wrist as if they were on a budget for time and Stiles painfully complied as he lifted the shirt above his head and set it reluctantly down behind him. He licked over his lips and bit down on his cheek when she told him to sit up straight and take a deep breath. He winced when the needle slid into his abdomen, "This is just a standard anti-inflammatory so that your body will accept the rest of the medication." He nodded and took one deep breath after another, flinching a few times depending on where she stuck which needle. Once in his side, another time low on his hip and then another in his abdomen again. "Flu shot, anti-fungal, hepatitis A and B and now," Harmony walked to the other side of the room where a large metal freezer was locked and hummed softly. Stiles poked at his stomach and whimpered, "Anti-fungal? I mean c'mon now, really? You guys are worried about me contracting some kind of _fungus_?" He stuck his tongue out and his expression twisted in disgust at the thought but Harmony shrugged her shoulders and set an icy vile full of opaque blue liquid on the steel tray. "Well, if you get bit by one of the ticks that like to crawl all over our ugly friends out there, you might just contract some kind of disease. We've seen it happen before and we found out it's some kind of fungus but we don't exactly know how to cure it. So the anti-fungal is just a precaution," she flashed a smile and Stiles felt his stomach flip and he grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut before the sound of shoes clicking against the floor interrupted his sudden wave of regrets. "As I was saying before, and now for the last shot which will be delivered by the surgeon in this wing, Dr. Lahey." The small woman gestured to the man who just entered the room and was flipping through a file which Stiles presumed was his.

The doctor was tall with a strong stature and a broad defined jaw. His cheekbones rested high on his face and aquamarine eyes darted up to Stiles as he closed the folder and set it down on the tray next to the vile. "Stiles?" he purred like a cat when he spoke and Stiles nodded in response as the doctor continued, "I'm Isaac, everyone here likes to refer to me as Dr. Lahey but honestly it makes me feel older than I am." Stiles tilted his head to the side and slid his eyes down the white lab coat draped over his shoulders which tapped gently against the back of his knees until raking them back up, catching a glance at the dog tags dangling around his neck. "Okay, well Isaac, your lovely assistant has plunged like five needles into my body so... can we wrap it up or do I have to sit here while you guys play darts?" Stiles smiled as he spoke and was relieved when Isaac laughed and shook his head back and forth, "I know, I know, but basically all I'm here for is to make you sign some paperwork, give you the last immunization and clear you for combat and simulation training. Also, I like to at least introduce myself to the recruits so if anything happens to them they'll know whose hands will be all over their bodies in the operating room." Blood rushed to Stiles' cheeks and he choked out a laugh when the doctor smirked and loaded the blue liquid into another syringe. It was strange how it almost glowed in the ridiculously bright room and it stole his attention away from the strangely flirtatious doctor. "What... what is that...?" There was something off about the way it looked, how thick and distorted it seemed to be and Stiles stiffened when Isaac placed a swab of alcohol against the side of his neck. A small sigh drifted over the young doctors mouth and his brows rose, "It's a derivative of Kaiju blue. Everyone knows that Kaiju cells begin to corrode as soon as they're killed but my father found out how to clone them. Not the Kaiju themselves but the cells inside their blood, which in turn allowed us to create a type of immunization against the effects of Kaiju blue. It disintegrates almost anything it touches, correct?" Isaac looked over to Stiles and wide, fear filled eyes greeted him. Stiles' mouth quivered and his tongue clicked against his teeth as he tried to find some way to protest getting anywhere near that needle. When Stiles didn't respond Dr. Lahey continued, "Well, now we've created something that will trick the blood into recognizing your cells as its own for a short period of time. It's a small window, five to seven minutes, but it's something and so far its saved two lives."

Stiles had his fingers wrapped around the edge of the bed and he gripped it firmly when Isaac asked him if he was alright. He wasn't alright, not in the slightest. His heart was racing and his stomach was in knots, but as his eyes lingered on the syringe he realized that backing out at this point wasn't an option. He took his glasses off, sat them on top of his shirt and took in a sharp breath, exhaling slowly into the quiet infirmary. "Y-yeah... I'm just not too cool with you shooting Kaiju blood into my veins but-"

"It won't hurt you, Stiles," Isaac interrupted with all too delicate words and offered a warm smile, "Everyone here at the facility's has had the shot, including myself, and I promise you we all had our reservations."

Stiles' throat was dry and he swallowed tightly before he nodded and tilted his chin to the right so that the doctor could slide the needle into the supple skin a few inches below his ear. "One, two," Isaac murmured quietly and Stiles gritted his teeth when the hollow needle bit at his flesh, "three." It felt like ice in his veins and it dripped slowly down his neck and into his shoulder. He had expected a sting or burn but instead it was freezing and goosebumps rose over his skin. His mind was swimming and his eyes blurred for a moment before a loud snap of Isaac's fingers grounded him and he hastily snatched his glasses, clumsily setting them back on the bridge of his nose. Isaac was chuckling and his mouth was spread into a wide smile, "It's powerful, I know," the doctor reached for the file and opened it, handing it over to Stiles who had his hand pressed to the throbbing area on his neck. "Now, this is just saying you've received all the immunizations and consented to each of them, sign here," Stiles obliged and scribbled his signature where the doctor pointed, "and here... and once more," he flipped the page and Stiles nodded, chills running down his spine as he read the bold words on the bottom of the sheet above the blank line.

**STILES STILINSKI - JAEGER PILOT**

He signed his name and handed the paper back to Isaac. The doctor showed his open palm and Stiles reached out to shake it firmly.

"Congratulations, Mr. Stilinski. Welcome to the resistance."

* * *

The walk to his room was short and Harmony reminded him once again that he would soon start to feel uncommonly drowsy and that it was just his body fighting and accepting the foreign substance. It still made Stiles extremely uneasy that he had any kind of Kaiju blue swimming around his blood stream, even if it was cloned DNA and he started fidgeting with his nails again as they walked up a flight of stairs to the third floor. Round metal doors lined the walls and as they approached the third door on the right Harmony stopped and nodded politely, "Here we are, Stiles. Your belongings are waiting for you so feel free to make yourself at home. Mr. Becket informed me to tell you," she cleared her throat and raised dainty fingers into air quotes, "'You better get yourself ready because tomorrow I'm going to kick your skinny ass into shape.'"

Stiles pulled his lips into a thin line and huffed, "I'm not that skinny..." Harmony smiled sweetly and poked Stiles in the back to get him to walk inside, "You get used to his charm," she piped and waved to him as he closed the heavy door to his new home. Amber eyes washed across the small enclosure. The bed was to the right and was decently sized with black sheets and a black comforter, a small dresser was pushed against the wall and a large square mirror hung above it. A nightstand sat next to his bed and the walls were empty of any decoration besides three shelves on the far wall to the left. It wasn't a big space by any means but it would do. His suitcases were set in the middle of the room and a dull ache settled at the bottom of his stomach as he unzipped them, plugged his phone in and began to fill the drawers of his new dresser with his clothes.

It didn't take him that long to unpack and as he came close to finishing he could feel the effects of the last shot sucking the energy out of his body. He sat on the edge of his bed and kicked his shoes off, starring down at a framed picture. A beautiful woman with an up-turned nose and long brown locks had her face buried in the belly of a laughing baby boy and it coaxed a soft smile to cradle Stiles' mouth. He set the frame on the wooden top of the nightstand and let himself fall back onto the bed, tired eyes blinking up at the ceiling. He yawned and his eyes lidded closed and he wondered once again about what it is he had got himself into. He reminded himself absently that this was an adventure, a risk, and that was the last thing he thought to himself before his breathing fell into an even pattern and he drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys so much for reading! I'm lion-ness on tumblr if you'd like to follow for updates, help me with Kaiju design, or just chat! Reviews are always appreciated! **

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The next week had been full of nothing but training and settling in for Stiles. His body was sore and bruised and his mind was wrecked from the on-going brutality of each simulation. Raleigh had been making him do at least three live simulation-sets a day on top of his normal training and that alone had exhausted every inch of him, but as he sat in the cafeteria nibbling on the end of a celery stick, Stiles found that he was adjusting quite well to his new surroundings.

Shatterdome was larger than he had expected and there was much more to the base than what he had first seen when he was dropped off. When Raleigh had given him a proper tour Stiles was able to see everything, from the tall hangars to the large multi-story office and apartment buildings that lingered behind them. They had walked from wing to wing and Stiles was given the chance to get up close and personal to each Jaeger. There was eight stationed in Hong Kong, the four he had seen when he first arrived included, Gipsy Danger, Striker Eureka, Chromebuster and Lionheart and in the other wings the German Jaeger, Titan Omega along with the Chinese, Canadian and Russian bots, Outlaw Archimedes, Yukon Echo and the new and improved Cherno Alpha. Each of them were extravagant and Stiles had given them no justice when he explained them to Danny over the phone a few days ago. He had tried to find words to express how completely surreal it was to be starring up at something so grand and when Danny had laughed and made a comment about what it would be like to actually be piloting one, Stiles felt his stomach drop into his feet. He gingerly forked at his salad and glanced around to the crowded room of people as they ate and laughed amongst one another. The most tolling test he had been struggling to master was the live play by play. It had never occurred to him that a simulation could be so realistic and more importantly he never thought he would be so good at keeping a hold of himself in the situations they had placed him in.

It was strange, when Raleigh locked the large metal arms over his own and Stiles had stepped into the mock locks that snapped around his shoes to keep him secure and in place. A device was wrapped around his chest and small steel claws dug almost painfully into his rib cage while a long thin bar with tiny hooked fingers clasped over his spine. It was a large dark room, nearly empty with nothing hanging from the walls or ceiling and the door that led to it had slid open after Raleigh in-putted a code allowing it to be completely invisible from the inside. Stiles hadn't put two and two together until his coach had exited the room and the first simulation started. It was as if he was in the middle of a battle and everything around him suddenly came to life, wires hung dangerously close to his face and the window of his Jaeger was streaked with large drops of rain. He had choked when the face of a leathery, multi-eyed beast crowded his vision and the all-too-real hologram of a Kaiju was snapping its jaws in his direction. Raleigh had walked in and placed a hand on his shoulder, assuring him that no one passed their first time and he shouldn't worry about it. Stiles had been shaking and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans so Raleigh wouldn't think he was as terrified as he really had been.

"Stiles!" A friendly voice called from behind him and he smiled when he saw Allison Argent approaching the table. He had been introduced the morning after his medical screening and he swore he had never met anyone with a better smile. "Hey, sit down, eat with me so I don't feel completely and utterly alone," Stiles playfully whined and Allison scoffed, setting her plate down on the other side of him as she shook her head, "Don't worry! Everyone's going to warm up to you, especially since Raleigh likes you so much. And I like you! Even though you need to work on your Ryukyu." Allison winked and Stiles shrugged, nodding along with her, "Yeah well, that's what you're here for, right?" She flashed a crooked smile before taking a bite of the chicken sandwich on her plate. Allison had greeted him with a firm hand shake and a sweet smile the day that Becket walked Stiles down to the on-site gym. Brunette hair was pulled out of her face, while her knuckles were wrapped in tight black bandaging. She had seemed far too gentle to be his combat specialist but Stiles learned a few hours later not to judge a book by its cover.

"So, boyfriend gets back today, huh?" Stiles arched a brow and chuckled at the sheepish grin Allison now sported. She nodded and covered her mouth when she spoke, still trying to chew a piece of chicken, "Yep, apparently everything went well over in Moscow so he should be here sometime tonight. Raleigh doesn't have anything scheduled for you, right?" Stiles shook his head and her eyes brightened, "Come out with us! Please! Come out with us, Isaac will be there and so will the Eureka team, we're going into the city for drinks." Stiles bristled and plucked the glasses off his nose so he could nervously fiddle with them. He didn't quite know how to respond and somewhere in the back of his mind he felt as if she was doing this because she felt bad for his complete lack of social skills. He shoved another spoon full of kale and ginger dressing into his mouth, giving himself a chance to deliberate before answering. She watched him hopefully and when he finally sighed and said 'fine' her lips creased into a grin and she rambled about how much fun they would have and how Stiles and her boyfriend were going to get along great.

It felt so foreign to him, going out with people that trained him and going out with his... doctor? Some part of it didn't seem right but then again he was supposed to climb into a giant robot and fight aliens, so justifying anything as normal these days seemed to be a stretch. "Do you guys hang out like all the time or-"

"It's weird but we're all like family here," she shrugged and Stiles nodded along as she explained further, "We all talk and we get out as much as we can, we celebrate holidays together and a lot of us even know each others families. You'll get close to everyone in time, don't worry. Especially when you start doing public appearances with the other pilots. We just have to find you a partner first." Her eyebrows raised and Stiles looked away to try and hide the fear glazed across his eyes. Raleigh had said something about that when they were training the other day, how his partner would have to compliment him mentally and physically without complicating him to the point of disruption in drift. The statement physically made his head ache and when Stiles asked him to explain all Becket said was 'you'll see.'

They finished their lunch and traded stories about the school they'd gone to and what they had majored in, how it played out in their lives now. Allison had attended CalTech and received her degree in Engineering and a minor in Bioengineering, which was extremely impressive and made Stiles look at the young woman in a completely different light. Not only was she an amazing field specialist and a bad-ass when it came to hand-to-hand combat, but she was also extremely intelligent. "Mako's the one who trained me, actually," the words rolled off of Allison's tongue like they were nothing more than a passing phrase and Stiles choked on his water, eyes narrowing at her, "Mako? Mako Mori? Like, Gipsy Danger Mako?" Allison nodded and wiped her mouth leisurely with a napkin, "Yeah, she's known my Dad for a really long time and she started training me when I was fifteen, I think? Fifteen or sixteen... No, it was fifteen. So, yeah, her training was definitely a determining factor on me being here right now, besides my father wanted to keep an eye on me."

It took a moment for Stiles to fully register what she had said before his lips parted and he cocked his head to the side, eyeing her up and down, "Argent? Oh my god, you're Chris Argent's daughter. Marshall Argent's daughter!" Allison pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, nodding and mumbling 'yeah yeah' and 'I know, okay.' Stiles hadn't had the chance to meet the Marshall or his partner, Herc Hansen. Apparently the Marshall title was being shared between the two due to the huge growth in the program. Chris was Raleigh and Mako's mentor and seeing as Raleigh was Stiles' coach, it would only make sense that he would meet Mr. Argent at some point. Stiles chewed nervously on his nails at the thought. Allison opened her mouth to continue but a hand fell over her shoulder and she looked up at Isaac who took a seat next to her and smiled over at Stiles. "Ah, the new recruit," the doctor arched a brow at Stiles who rolled his eyes and nodded along, "How are you doing these days? I haven't seen you in the infirmiry so you must be doing alright."

Stiles shrugged and tilted a cup of now luke-warm tea to his lips, "Yeah, I'm alright. Just kind of going through the motions, I guess. Allison keeps kicking my ass and Raleigh keeps getting irritated because my simulation results aren't getting matched with any of the candidates here." Raleigh had been trying to pair Stiles up with someone since his second day on site so that he could begin dual-training but something about his test results were proving difficult. Raleigh kept saying he was too smart for his own good which made Stiles snort and shake his head again and again. Isaac looked across the table and eyed the pilot carefully, "I have an odd feeling I just figured out who Raleigh was on the phone with this morning..." Stiles bristled and he pushed his plate away from him as curiosity beamed through the lenses of his glasses, "Okay? Well, I don't really know if you're trying to tell me something without telling me something but if you know-"

A sharp beep came from Isaac's phone and he reached into his pocket, sighing loudly when he read the words flashing across the screen. "Engineer burned themselves working on Lionheart's chest piece, but I'll see you tonight?" He glanced at Allison who nodded and then he looked to Stiles with an inviting smile, "And you too?" Stiles nodded and tried to choke out a 'wait' but realized Dr. Lahey probably had something much more important to address than his curiosity.

Allison tilted her head to the side and grinned at Stiles, "Well, we should probably head down to the gym. You've already gone through one simulation today so let's get you into some hand-to-hand." Stiles eyes rolled towards the ceiling and he chuckled when Allison laughed and tugged at his arm, urging him forward, "C'mon beta! Get off your ass, let's go hit some shit!" He was up and stumbling to follow her as she pulled him through the cafeteria and towards the elevator. He stopped dead in his tracks when she reached to press the button and she jerked, looking over her shoulder, "Stiles?"

He swallowed dryly and nudged his shoulder towards the staircase, "C'mon, you're the fitness freak here, it's only on the third floor." He shook her hand from its grasp on his arm and she eyed him carefully before following his lead and listening to their shoes clank against the stairs.

They were laughing when they walked through the doors of the large gymnasium, the floor was padded and intricate machines lined the walls. Free weights were stacked on shelves to the right and in the center of the room was a large square platform where sparring matches were held between potential pilot partners. A couple people were lifting weights around the room, but what captured Stiles' attention was the sound of fists slamming against a punching bag to the left of them. He hadn't had the chance to properly meet Mako Mori and when she took in a breath and looked up to lock eyes with him, it became prevalent that she was the anchor in the relationship between herself and Raleigh. While Becket had a sense of warmth and comfort, Mako made chills run down his spine and he immediately stood up straight when she walked forward.

Mako wrapped an arm around Allison and rubbed her back gently, "Hello, my flower, how are you doing? Who is this?" Stiles smiled at how soft-spoken the woman was and when she extended her hand he took it without hesitation, "Stiles," he said it clearly and nodded. Mako's eyes narrowed and a her thin lips twisted into a smile, "Ah, Raleigh's new prodigy, we don't quite see eye to eye on your future, I must say." Stiles felt blood rush to his cheeks and Allison's bright grin immediately fell. Embarrassment flooded through him and he bit down on his lip, reached up to run his hand through his hair and laughed nervously, "Uh, well, you know I don't even think I see eye to eye with Raleigh on my future," he frowned and wrinkled his nose. Allison cleared her throat and tried to feign a smile, "So! Well, I'm training him so we can try and get him-"

"A co-pilot. Yes, I'm well aware," Mako hadn't taken her eyes off of Stiles and her unwavering gaze was causing him to feel more uncomfortable than he had since the shot Isaac had insisted on giving him the first day he had arrived. It seemed as if both Allison and Stiles were caught off guard and when his combat specialist's eyes narrowed, he felt as if he should probably busy himself else where. "Mako, can we- Can I speak to you? Stiles, go ahead and warm up. Stretch and treadmill," Allison didn't look at him when she spoke but he nodded, mumbling a 'nice to meet you' to Mako. It was strange to receive a sincere and sweet, 'you too, Stiles' as he walked towards the other end of the gym.

He watched them as he grabbed his foot, pulled it behind him and stretched. He had been overwhelmed with curiosity since Isaac had rambled about something obviously having to do with his co-pilot this morning and now Mako seemed to already disapprove of him without a second thought. Allison reached forward and tentatively touched Mako's hands who shook her head and leaned forward, nodding when Allison suddenly looked completely taken aback. Her head jerked and the pretty brown curls around her shoulders swayed when she shook her head. All Stiles could make out was hand motions and both of them nodding and shaking their heads at each other.

The technicalities in finding a co-pilot were obscure and he completely understood that, but what worried him was the underlying detail he was missing that everyone else around him seemed to grasp. Stiles assumed they were going to line up some guys and gals and they'd take a few swings at each other, simulate together, and then ultimately drift together. It was a lengthy process but with as many candidates waiting to be partnered as there were, it only seemed plausible that he would find a co-pilot reasonably fast. Apparently he was wrong about that and as Mako placed her hand on Allison's shoulder and they said their goodbyes, he turned quickly to walk towards the treadmills behind him.

Allison flashed a smile when she approached and hopped up onto the machine next to Stiles as he jogged. He tried to keep himself from sounding desperate but the words came out rushed and breathy, "What was that?" He saw her shake her head and purse her lips into a thin line before she offered another warm smile, "It's nothing, really. Nothing that you need to worry about. We're going to have you go hand-to-hand with a few other pilots today and hopefully find someone for you to share the deck with." Allison ignored him when Stiles heaved a sigh and narrowed his eyes at her.

They warmed up and trained lightly, Stiles aimed punches at the pads in Allison's hand and struck at them with his foot. He had taken some martial arts briefly through out high school, it was something his father had him do to occupy his time between lacrosse seasons, so he seemed to catch on quickly. It also helped that Allison was understanding and playful when it came to training him. They laughed a lot and she didn't push him too hard which kept Stiles comfortable and loose throughout their sessions together.

Stiles and Allison had been sparring for close to an hour before Raleigh interrupted them and walked in with a line of men and women behind him. Allison waved a hand to follow as they walked up to the large platform in the middle of the room. The black padded floors squished slightly on his bare feet and Stiles could suddenly feel anxiety tickling at the back of his throat. They looked well-trained and most of them looked dangerous, much more dangerous than Stiles had ever hoped to look. A small whine vibrated in his throat and Allison reassuringly tapped him with her elbow, "You'll be fine." He stayed quiet and bit down on his bottom lip, starring at Raleigh as his coach flipped through a spiral notebook, "Stiles," he called his name and Stiles walked over to stand at his side. "So, these are the people that relatively matched up to your test scores when it came to tactical and streamline decision making. Now, you're going to spar with them and see if your fighting style compliments or inhibits each other," opaque blue eyes flicked over to Stiles who pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and nodded as if he understood. "Ah, well, this should be fun. That guy looks like he's fought a bear, that guy looks like he is a bear and she just, she doesn't even look like she wants to be here. I mean, really man-"

Raleigh placed his hand flat on Stiles' back and pushed him forward towards the platform. Stiles stumbled and was grumbling something about how embarrassing this was going to be and how completely ridiculous it was that he ever signed up for this in the first place. Before he took the first step onto the platform he snatched the glasses off his face and walked back to hand them to Allison. She was standing next to Raleigh and her lips were curved into a small smile, "Go on, just be as relaxed as possible. If you force it then the bond created will be warped, we need you to be completely yourself." Stiles nodded and sighed as he walked back towards the raised area where a girl much shorter than him waited to begin. Stiles didn't quite know what had happened except for that his legs were knocked out from underneath him and his back hit the floor with a loud smack. He winced and took in a deep breath before he rose to his feet and tilted his head to the side to crack his neck. The small girl didn't smile or move much at all, she just stared at him like he was a job she had to execute and that alone made him not interested in potentially meeting his death with her in a Jaeger.

They cycled through five candidates and Allison and Raleigh winced the whole time. Either Stiles ended up on his back or his opponent ended up on theirs, but in the long run none of them had the finesse that he did. Stiles was quick and agile, he dodged more than anything else, but in the instances when he did fight it was nothing less than impressive. Stiles possessed valuable qualities: He fought using his mind, his body movements were fluid and he didn't give up. Raleigh noticed that every time Stiles got knocked down it wasn't anger or defeat that flashed across his face, but he was pensive and each time came back with a completely different strategy than before. "He's innovative," Raleigh looked at Allison who nodded in agreement, "And he's witty and stubborn and we aren't going to be able to pair him with just anyone." Allison could hear something spark in Raleigh's voice and she arched a brow as soft brown eyes turned back to Stiles. "That's enough!" Raleigh sighed, folding his arms across his chest, "We're done for the day."

Stiles swallowed hard and took in breath after breath as sweat dripped off the tip of his nose and slid down his temple. His stomach was knotted and his breathing was shaky as he stepped off the platform to walk towards Becket and his trainer. His body was sore and his eyes were tired but he thanked Allison anyways when she handed him his glasses and turned his attention to Raleigh as he put them back on. "You remind me a lot of Mako," Becket smiled and Stiles tried to contain a small laugh and nervously looked at the ground, "And you're extremely different when it comes to combat. You strategize and you only engage if you have a set plan. It's interesting." Raleigh had his head tilted to the side and his eyes drifted from Stiles' feet to the top of his head and back again. The intrusion of his coaches eyes made Stiles desperately want to find his shirt but he smirked and picked at his nail beds, "Well, I don't wanna brag or anything..." His words were laced with sarcasm and Stiles laughed through them when Raleigh rolled his eyes and cut him off, "Yeah, yeah, well you're done for today. I have someone coming in tomorrow to go hand-to-hand with you. I'm kind of kicking myself in the ass that I didn't call him earlier 'cause honestly, I should have known when I met you at Brown that you'd work well together." Stiles' eyes lit up as he stammered and stumbled over his words, "W-who? I mean, no offense but Mako doesn't seem to think I'm really meant for this whole shin-dig and I'd like to at least know who-"

"It's not you, Stiles," Raleigh started walking, Allison was quick to follow and Stiles almost tripped as he hurriedly kept pace next to him, "It's the guy I'm almost one hundred percent positive is going to be your co-pilot. She thinks you guys are completely incompatible."

"Who, though? Can I get a name, a description, can you like draw me a sketch? I don't know, something?"

Allison pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and stared at the ground as Raleigh turned and smiled, "Nope. You just have to trust me." Stiles didn't know if it was appropriate to shove his middle finger in the air and shake his head at the man who saved the planet, but he did it anyways and Becket simply let a throaty laugh fill the hallway before he turned and walked away, the logo of his bomber jacket disappearing behind two large metal doors.

Stiles had bothered Allison about who it was that Raleigh, Isaac and Mako were all so up in arms about and she politely told him not to worry about it over and over again. He was persistent and finally she had turned towards him and sighed, "He's an alpha, and that's all you need to know." Her voice was gentle but firm and Stiles inhaled through his nose, head lolling up so he could focus his blank stare at the ceiling. "Okay, well, that would make sense if I knew what being an alpha meant. I mean I know you called me a beta or whatever but I just thought that was some weird joke I would figure out later," amber eyes turned back down to look at her and Allison busied herself with tying her hair back into a pony tail. "They're terms we use for ranking. It happened during Breach One, Stacker started calling his all-stars 'Alphas' and it stuck," she eyed Stiles carefully and he blinked back at her, "A beta is your typical Jaeger pilot, not that being a Jaeger pilot is typical by any means but..." Allison paused and took in a small breath, "An Alpha has more than ten kills. Mako and Raleigh are an Alpha team. Now, go to your room and put something nice on! We're going out tonight!"

Stiles nodded and looked to the side as he tried to process what she had just said. An Alpha. His stomach clenched and he bit down on his cheek, eyes flashing to Allison as she placed a hand on his arm. "Don't over think this," she gripped gently and Stiles tried his best to relax, "It will be fine and a part of me agrees with Raleigh, I think you two will be great. Just... go get ready. I'll meet you outside the building at seven, okay?" She looked at him from under her lashes and her eyes urged him to let go of the subject. He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth and nodded, a smile pulling at the sides of his mouth.

Allison dropped his arm and walked towards the large metal elevator while Stiles made his way down the hall and to the right where the long stretch of rooms were. He opened the door, tossed his shirt on the bed and took a couple steps towards the dresser. He breathed evenly as his reflection stared back at him in the mirror and Stiles placed his hands on his arms, slid them down his bare chest and poked at a few moles that lingered on his hips. He wasn't in bad shape, he had proven that today, but he was still lean and tall and as much as he liked his body, he wasn't quite sure that it was Jaeger material. His nose wiggled before he walked over and picked up his phone. Three text messages from Danny, one from Laurie, and one from his Dad. He read through them and chuckled at a few, a small smile twitched across his mouth and he pulled his glasses off so he could paw at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Okay..." he murmured under his breath before he placed the phone back down and grabbed a towel from inside one of the shelves and walked into the bathroom to shower.

Allison and Isaac were waiting outside when Stiles walked out and they both smiled his direction as he approached. "Look at you," Allison reached out and poked his chest, "you're hot." Stiles arched a brow, reaching out to poke Allison in the forehead, "So are you." He didn't know if he should be as comfortable with her as he was, but it came naturally and after the passed week of getting to know her she seemed more like a friend to him than his trainer. Stiles was relieved when she laughed and swatted at his hand, "C'mon, we have a car waiting."

Allison's dress was simple, a form-fitted black cocktail dress with a small sequin design sewn across the bust. Her heels made tiny clicks across the asphalt and Stiles thanked Isaac when he opened the door of the town car as they slid in. Isaac rolled up the sleeves of the baggy cream shirt he was wearing and sighed when Allison leaned up to jabber to the driver about where to take them. Stiles was nervous, the kind of nervous children get when their parents drop them off at school for the first time. He played with his glasses as Isaac took out his phone and began typing out a message, "So, Lan Kwai Fong right Allison?" She turned back to Isaac and nodded, "Yeah, Scott and the Striker's are meeting us down there at that little pub, remember the one with that really spicy martini?" The doctor nodded and laughed, tilting his head back and squeezing his eyes shut, "Oh my god, the one where Erica did like, eight shots of Patron and-" his voice broke off as he continued to laugh and Allison flopped back into the seat to laugh along with him. Stiles fiddled with his fingertips and couldn't help but feel out of place. It was as if he was intruding on a group of people who had been friends for a long time, knew each others in and outs, and it made him withdrawn and uncomfortable.

Stiles reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to try and look like he was doing something besides being awkward and anti-social. A small smile pulled at his lips when he re-read Danny's texts but he was interrupted when Isaac's shoulder bumped casually into his, "So, I don't really know much about you, Stiles. What do you like to do?" Allison peaked around Isaac's shoulder and Stiles blinked up through his glasses and his brows furrowed, "Well, you know, honestly I'm kind of boring. I played lacrosse in high school, I'm pretty outdoorsy, I like hiking and..." he paused and tried to think of something more to say but ended up letting his hands fall into his lap, "Yeah, I don't know. Like I said, I'm boring." He hated when people asked him such open-ended questions because he could never seem to swim through his mind and find something even slightly interesting to say. Isaac tilted his head to the side, "Ah, well, fair enough. We'll all get to know you in time I'm sure," the doctor winked and Stiles rolled his eyes and shook his head before he turned to look out the window. The city was amazing, full of people with lights flashing in every direction. The buildings towered above of them and as they drove into the Fong district, he noticed that everything brightened up even more. Bars, clubs and restaurants lined the sidewalk. Their driver had to drop them off across the street due to the amount of people crowding the roads and when Stiles stepped out of the car he could feel his heart beat in his fingertips.

Sky-scrapers lined the dark horizon and bright bulbs of fluorescent colored light illuminated the strip. Every few feet there was a new shop, club or eatery to explore and they all had their own decor and personality, lit signs beckoned and pulled at customers to get them inside and even the trees and shrubs had strings of lights twined through their branches. It was beautiful and Stiles felt exponentially smaller as he walked through the sea of people in the well-known party district of Hong Kong. Allison took his hand and had her other arm looped through Issac's as he led them through the 'L' shaped corridor of the street. Amber eyes tried their best to take in anything and everything as he stumbled along, laughing with Allison as they made their way into a small pub underneath a sign beaming '1997' in fluorescent purple numbers. They all took in a deep breath when they escaped the swarm of people and Isaac swatted Stiles gently on the back when they sat down at a large round table across from the bar. It was a petite establishment, with a dark wood bar and a few tables set sparely around the room. Pictures hung on the walls of famous moments in history and the skull of some kind of infant Kaiju was mounted proudly above the shelves of alcohol behind the bar. It was quaint, quiet and was moderately busy.

"Hey!" Isaac raised his arm, waving two fingers towards the door, "Scott!" He shouted again and leaned back in his chair to try and get the attention of the three people walking through the door. Stiles pulled nervously at the thin black tie wrapped around the collar of his white button up shirt and tapped his boots together underneath the table. He hadn't been in a situation like this in a very long time and it was causing him to itch and chew on his lip. It didn't take long before Allison was up and out of her chair and Stiles watched with a coy smile as she weaved through the small crowd next to the bar to throw her arms around a dark haired young man wearing a blue v-neck and khaki pants. The two following him were laughing and nodded to Isaac when they approached. Erica Reyes was like a rebellious barbie doll, her untamed blonde curls bounced when she walked and the devious expression she wore never failed to turn heads. Her lips were painted a deep red and they parted when she set her eyes on Stiles, "And who might this be?" She sounded like a sex-phone-operator, mewling through the question as she set her elbows on the table and leaned forward to drag a pointed nail across a coaster. "Well, Erica Reyes, this is Stiles Stilinski, Raleigh's new recruit. Stiles, Erica, and," Isaac paused and gestured to the man next to them, "this is Boyd. Stiles, meet the Striker Eureka team."

Stiles raised a glass full of dark liquid and arched a brow, "Nice to meet you both."

Erica was the kind of beautiful that caused car accidents and Boyd was warm with deep skin and even deeper eyes. They looked terrifying and gorgeous and Stiles had no idea whether he wanted their autograph or to ask as many prying questions as he possibly could about the Jaeger program. He promptly decided against both ideas and settled with smiling and nodding along with their stories of the horrible time they had at the last PR meeting.

"Oh my fucking god," Erica's voice was sultry and the spice underneath each word made Stiles want to know what it would be like to listen to her sing, "Peter is just, god, that man. That beautiful, disgusting, sassy man, if I could tear his throat out I would." Isaac and Boyd were laughing and Stiles sipped on his drink before he looked across to the couple now leaning against the bar. Allison had her lips pressed firmly to Scott's and her thumb gently stroked along his cheek. They had their mouths pressed against each others ears, nodding and laughing along with whatever it was they were talking about. All Stiles could make out was the relief and happiness that was prevalent between the two.

"Hey," Boyd's voice interrupted him as Stiles raked his gaze around the room and he snapped his attention back to the table, "So, new beta, huh? You got a co-pilot yet?" Stiles blinked and it took a moment for him to shake his head and let a 'no' fall from his lips. "I guess I'm too fucking complicated for anyone to handle," Stiles said sarcastically. Isaac reached over and gripped his shoulder, shaking Stiles playfully, "Raleigh's got something in the works, I'm sure. You just have to be patient."

Erica smiled and lifted a martini glass full of lime green liquid to her lips taking a drink before she set it back down, "Boyd and I only had one hand-to-hand and it was with each other. We literally were paired from the beginning, one test, one combat, one simulation and then we were recruited. The Australian's needed a good team after..." Erica looked down and Stiles swore he saw her lips quiver. Boyd reached over and laced his fingertips with hers, "Well, you know, but we decided we'd take it. It was an honor to pilot Striker, especially after all her new modifications and improvements the PPDC put in place." Stiles didn't have to ask, no one did. Stacker Pentecost and Chuck Hansen had fallen in battle when piloting the Australian Jaeger nearly six years ago and were considered international heroes for their bravery and sacrifice. It didn't surprise Stiles that Erica would be sensitive when it came to a subject like that, for most people the Jaeger program had been a dream and both her and Boyd had been given the chance to honor two extremely well-known and well-respected pilots.

"I didn't think you were ever coming back, man!" Isaac's voice shattered the heavy conversation and he stood to pull Allison's boyfriend into a tight hug. "Ah, yeah, well Russia is fine and their Jaeger's are in great condition. Didn't take me long to whip 'em into shape," his voice was airy and it only made sense that someone as friendly as Scott would be dating Allison. When he smiled his cheeks pushed up against his eyes and his dimples rolled against his cheeks, he looked like someone who surfed on a regular basis and didn't take life as seriously as he probably should but Stiles smiled when deep chocolate eyes beamed across the table. "You must be Stiles!" Scott was much more excited than Stiles had expected him to be and awkwardly looked around before nodding his head as he answered, "Yes?"

Stiles laughed when Scott made him get up and pulled him into his chest. The hug was warm and it was shocking that he felt as comfortable as he did with the group of people. They were more accepting than he ever expected them to be. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the lack of worry or care for Jaeger's or Kaiju or anything else that had to do with the on-going war, but as the group sat around the table and went on and on about random subjects, Stiles found his guard begin to melt.

Scott was brilliant and when he explained to Stiles that he was a high school drop out from San Francisco, it made Stiles even more interested. He told the story of how he met Allison when her car over-heated on her way to visit her mother and she interjected to add in, 'estranged mother,' Scott rolled his eyes and continued, explaining that they started dating and when she learned that he wanted to be an engineer she pushed him to go back to school. Erica, Boyd and Isaac had all listened as well, chuckling when Scott's voice broke into loud, animated excitement over the re-launch of the program. He looked at Allison when he spoke of her bravery when she went to her father and convinced him to take Scott on as an engineer at Shatterdome. Allison blushed and looked down at her hands as they curled around the glass settled between them, "and then I proved myself and Pan Pacific offered to pay for off-site schooling. Now I'm the Chief Design Technician and I specialize in nuclear fusion. That's why I was over in Moscow, I was helping them perfect some of the core receptors on their designs."

Stiles' lips were parted as he listened and he huffed a small sigh when Scott finished, shaking his head back and forth. "Man, you guys are amazing. All I can do is ramble in different languages," he laughed and so did Allison who slapped his arm playfully. As much as he wanted to joke around and act like it didn't affect him, it did. Every single person surrounding him was someone of worth and the ut-most respect but Stiles, he was just a college student who stupidly through himself into something due to his lack of self-control. He picked at his nails under the table and finished his second drink with ease, smiling over to Isaac when he leaned against Stiles' shoulder, "You'll be great. You don't give yourself enough credit, nor do you give yourself enough time." Isaac's words were kind and Erica nodded, eyes closing when Boyd gingerly pressed his lips against her temple, "Trust me, Stiles," caramel eyes gazed at him and she tugged at the leather jacket wrapped snug around her shoulders, "Raleigh wouldn't just choose anyone."

Stiles blushed and smiled down at his hands which he folded on the table to try and keep from fidgeting. His stomach was doing flips and he tried his best to keep listening as his new friends continued to talk about this or that. The conversations were going everywhere, from dates to old-girlfriends and boyfriends all the way to stories about bar hopping and dancing. His mind buzzed and his body was warm but Stiles still couldn't comprehend the acceptance that was so quickly extended from the people surrounding him. As much as he wanted to keep his distance, he found himself opening up more and more as the night went on. One drink later and they were all clapping, throwing their heads back in laughter and reaching out to tap each others hands when they spoke. Stiles hadn't laughed that hard since his third year in college, and he hadn't felt himself really fall head first into something like this since sophomore year in high school. It was a whole new group of people and as Stiles watched and listened he quickly realized that they weren't only their titles. Allison and Scott weren't only field specialists, Isaac wasn't just his doctor and Erica and Boyd weren't only defined by Striker Eureka. They had issues and kinks and pet peeves just like anyone else and Stiles understood that although they were part of something extraordinary, they were just like him. Young people who threw themselves into something much bigger than themselves and grasped desperately to the normalcy of a night at a bar together, drinking and stumbling and sharing experiences that they could all relate to. It was a nice step outside of Shatterdome and a escape from the fear and worry of battle.

The night went on until the early morning and they were still laughing as they all stumbled onto the grounds. Scott had been talking to Stiles all night about school, and had made Stiles speak in French and German multiple times. "Say it again, say it again," Scott fell into Stiles' shoulder and they laughed as they walked into the building through the large metal doors next to the hangar. "J'aime les crêpes," Stiles hummed and Scott laughed again. Allison was next to them, her heels dangling from her fingertips as they hurriedly walked passed the large glass windows looking onto the control deck. Scott stopped abruptly in his tracks, eyes locked on two men that stood in front of the array of key boards and computer screens. Allison narrowed her eyes, "Scott what..." her voice faded when she looked through the glass and Stiles turned, the smile on his face fading as he saw the expression both of them wore.

"What's... going on," Stiles turned and looked to the right, amber eyes locking on to Raleigh who was talking with his hands to someone across from him. Stiles was taken a back when the smoldering gaze of the man in front of Raleigh ran right into his own and he choked on a sharp breath. He was beautiful, tall with broad shoulders and distinct features. The strangers eyes trailed across him and Stiles finally looked away, lashes covering his eyes as he stared at the ground. Allison swallowed and looked over to Scott whose breath was coming out in short exasperated words that Stiles couldn't make out. When he had the courage to look back up the man's eyes were still glued to him, mouth moving as if he was speaking to Raleigh as well.

"Derek... Derek's back," Scott's words were soft and saturated in disbelief but Stiles didn't have time to react because Allison had them both by the arms and pulled them firmly towards the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's been a while," Allison's voice was soft in the empty cafeteria. It was cold and her mascara streaked when she pawed at her eye with the back of her hand. She messed lazily with her hair and absently dug into the black clutch on the table before she pushed brown locks back out of her face and tied them with a rubber band. The woman looked up and hazel eyes blinked back at her from behind an array of thick dark lashes but the pilot stayed quiet, waving his fingers through the steam that rose from a coffee mug sitting in front of him.

"Derek," Allison's voice was soft and she shifted to reach across the uncomfortable metal table and tap on the top of his hand. His lips twitched into something of a smile and the man lifted his gaze, "Yeah, it has been a while hasn't it?" She tilted her head to the side and her fingers curled around his hand as she gripped it gently, "A year," she whispered, "It's been almost a year and we didn't get a phone call, a letter, you didn't even say goodbye." His jaw tightened and he pulled his hand away to slip his index finger through the handle of the coffee cup and set it against his lips. Allison watched him, dark eyes flicked from the small faded scars on his arms to the sharp line of his jaw. Derek didn't answer, he just placed his elbows on the table and wrapped both of his hands around the warm cup.

"Scott was devastated when you left, he didn't know where you ran off to or if you were okay-"

"I wasn't," Derek's voice broke and he looked up at Allison who stared back at him, "I wasn't okay."

The woman looked down at the table and bit down on her lip. It was four o'clock in the morning and the air was stale and stripped raw. Allison had put the boys to bed close to an hour ago, assured Stiles that everything would be explained to him in the morning and kissed Scott, hushing him when the words coming out of his mouth caused traffic between his lips and started running into one another. When she had hurriedly walked back to the control room she found Derek standing with his arms crossed over his chest and two coffee cups dangling from his hand. She had never expected to see him again, to try and re-connect. Allison had never expected him to actually come back.

His words stung and she closed her eyes, "I know, none of us... none of us were okay, but..." Allison's words faded into the silent room and she tried to reach for his hand again but he sat back in the chair, eyeing her carefully. She inhaled sharply and apologized, holding her open palm out and offering a tired smile, "I'm sorry for bringing... We won't... let's just forget about it for right now, what have you been doing? C'mon," she curled her fingers back and forth and Derek's lips pulled back into a smile as he set a warm hand on her own.

"Coaching girls soccer back home," he murmured, sipping on his coffee. Allison laughed and tugged gently on his calloused fingertips, "Really? You're so cute, mister big and bad being a high school coach in Oregon. Look at'chu." They laughed and Derek rolled his eyes, listening to the echo of their voices bounce off the pillars around them. The conversation was soft, Derek asked about the program and how her father was, Allison asked about the weather in Fairview and if he had been seeing anyone. It was light-hearted and the old friends, as tired as they were, opened up like used books for one another and spilled bits and pieces into the stale air. When Derek looked down at his watch he sighed and flicked Allison's hand playfully, "It's almost five in the morning, go to bed," he smirked and she rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, I have to be up in a couple hours. I'll probably have to bang on Stilinski's door to wake him up if Raleigh wants him in simulation at eight," her words were slurred through a yawn.

The exhausted combat specialist stood and cracked her neck before she mumbled 'see you in a few hours' and turned to walk towards the elevator. Derek blinked and tapped his fingers on the sides of his coffee cup, "Allison," his voice was low and she looked over her shoulder at him, "that was Stiles wasn't it, the kid with you and Scott. That's the kid-"

"He's not a kid, Derek," Allison was gentle with her words.

Derek's jaw tightened and he looked away, "That's him though. That's who Raleigh called me out here for." Allison nodded and Derek listened to her sigh as he stared blankly into the coffee cup gripped between his hands.

"You have to let it go," Allison's words cut the air like a knife and Derek's lips pursed into a thin line as the sound of his old friends feet against the ground became distant and faded.

Derek didn't say anything as she walked away, he just sat at the cold table in the empty cafeteria until his eyes trailed across the War Clock settled above the double doors that led to the east hangar. He watched the seconds turn to minutes and waited for the tightness in his chest to subside.

* * *

Stiles was awake when the sound of Allison's knuckles rapped on the metal door. He was sitting on his bed with his fingers pressed against his temples and when he heard her voice call from the hall he swallowed a shaky breath, "I'm up, I'm just... hold on." His body was sore, his head was pounding and when he finally pushed himself up off the bed and opened the door, it was a relief to see Allison standing with a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of Excedrin in the other. "You're a fucking angel sent from the heavens, Allison Argent," Stiles' voice was raspy from the yell-talking in the bar last night and the pilot wore his lack of sleep like a badge, dark circles staining the soft skin beneath his glasses. Allison rolled her eyes, "Well, I won't argue with you on that. You need to eat before simulation so let's go," she shoved her shoulder in the direction of the stair case and Stiles stuck his bottom lip out when she pulled on his arm and started dragging him, "Oh, come on!"

They ate and they laughed, reminisced on the night before. Stiles talked about how nice it was to meet everyone and Allison warmly chimed that he fit right in and she was glad Raleigh had chosen him. It was exhilarating to feel like Stiles was a part of something more than just the Jaeger program and his stomach fluttered gently. She scoffed when Stiles tried to thank her and he laughed when she rolled her eyes at his attempt to compliment her on how beautiful she looked. "I usually don't have the chance to get dolled up anymore," Allison shrugged and Stiles nodded, "Yeah, neither do I. Not like anyone here is going to be interested in a lanky college kid with nothing on his side except sarcasm." She choked on her juice and he stuck his tongue between his teeth when she croaked out a laugh, "Shut up! You're gorgeous, any guy here would fall over himself to get a chance to roll around with you."

Heat rose into the apple of Stiles' cheeks and he shoved a spoon full of oatmeal into his mouth, "That obvious, huh?" He lifted his eyes to look at her and she shook her head, "No, no, I just... My best friend, he liked guys and you would have never known it by looking at him. You're the same way, I just noticed that you never take a second glance at any of the women here." Stiles raised and eyebrow and winked playfully, "Well, you know-"

"You know what?" Scott's voice was light as he took a seat next to Allison and saluted Stiles with two fingers. Stiles smiled down at his food when Scott leaned over and pressed his lips gingerly against Allison's cheek, "Nothing, man. Just talking about my lack of interest in the female gender, that's all." Scott rolled his eyes, "Ah, yes. Allison always has a tendency to make her friends... friends... come out..." his words trailed off and Stiles watched as Scott's eyes disappeared. He stared over Stiles' shoulder, an unblinking gaze paired with parted lips and flushed cheeks. He looked nervous, mentally checked out of the conversation, like he had seen a ghost. Allison said nothing, she just glanced up and blinked a few times before she shook her head and turned her attention back to the plate of food in front of her.

Amber eyes narrowed and Stiles turned to look over his shoulder, "Scott are you..." his voice also faltered when he found the reason behind Scott's sudden dishevelment. Derek leaned against the far wall of the large room, his arms settled across his chest. Stiles' breath caught and he let his eyes trail across the body that stood far away from them. The sound of Allison inhaling sharply pulled his gaze back and he fumbled over a few words as Scott stumbled out of his seat and paced across the room. "Shit..." Allison kept her eyes on the two men, watched as Scott walked in front of Derek with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Stiles felt as if he had been thrust into the middle of a situation he really had no place being a part of, but curiosity gnawed at him like a starving animal and he tried to be subtle as he let his eyes creep over his shoulder. He saw Derek's mouth move and tried not be transfixed on the way the pilot's jaw tightened and relaxed. He was nervous, not only for Allison but nervous because he knew the name. Derek. He had heard it before, years ago, and something about it made his thoughts scream and claw behind his eyes.

"Oh, thank god," Allison's voice shook and she let out a long breath, one that she had apparently been holding since Scott had left the table. Scott pulled Derek into a tight hug before stepping back and setting his hand against the pilots arm. Stiles hadn't seen Derek smile until then and when he did it felt like a knife was being shoved into his abdomen, sharp and warm. It caught him completely off-guard.

"So, uh... Who is? I don't really know what is, uh. What the fuck is going on," Stiles blinked at Allison, who had slouched in her chair and shook her head back and forth. As completely unfair as it felt to try and pry into their lives, Stiles felt like he had to in order to understand any of them. They were all so close, with history and damage. He wanted to know that history, to process that damage. It was the first time in years that Stiles wanted to go out of his way to learn something other than literature or a foreign language; he wanted to learn these people, to study them, piece them together and fall into them without any reserve. His bottom lip rolled between his teeth, tired eyes watching Allison as she finally turned her attention back to him, "It's a really long story, Stiles." His stomach immediately dropped when he heard the morose tone cradled in her voice and he looked down at the table, "Oh, no, yeah of course. I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's fine. It's just... complicated. I'm sure you'll be tuned into everything soon enough," she watched Stiles as he stole glances over his shoulder and when he finally caught her smiling at him with her eyebrows raised, the beta stammered, "So, yeah. Uhm, okay. Simulation, let's- let's go do that-"

"Derek Hale," Allison's words were quiet and Stiles couldn't stop the heat from rising to his cheeks, "That's his name. The Alpha, the one Raleigh called for you?" She was careful as she edged forward, words slow and steady. The combat specialist eyed him and Stiles nodded, trying to contain the anxiety now circulating from his toes to his fingertips. "Well..." she shrugged and gestured to the man across the room, whose eyes raked across Stiles momentarily, "that's him." Stiles pulled his glasses from the bridge of his nose and set them on the table before he started fidgeting with his nail beds. His heart pounded, a sick nervousness spilling out over his organs.

Something about Derek made Stiles incredibly uneasy, whether it was his status or the fact that he had major history with the people who had taken him in under their wing, he didn't know. The pilot pushed his plate away and glanced up at Allison who still had her eyes fixed on him, "Looks like they're going to take a look at the Jaegers." Stiles glanced over his shoulder again to watch Scott and Derek descend into the hangar and when he turned his eyes back to Allison she tilted her head to the side, "You're not over-whelming me with a bunch of questions and honestly, that's what I expected."

Stiles ran his fingers through his hair and sighed when he set his glasses back on his nose, "What is there to ask? He was a big part of your life, that's obvious. We don't even know if we'll be compatible, so why worry about the rest. The only thing I'd like to know is a little bit about his history, like how exactly he's an Alpha with no co-pilot of his own." The bite at the end of his words made Allison fix her gaze on the table as she lifted her cup to her lips and took a short sip. He knew that in the end, no matter what he tried to pry out of Allison, she wasn't going to spill information that wasn't hers to give but when she looked up and saw his teeth set tight together her face softened, "Stiles, that's not something-"

"I know," Stiles breathed, nodding at her from across the table. She visibly relaxed, her eyes closed and she mumbled that it wasn't her story to tell. He just nodded back at her and tried his best to not over-think the situation. He reminded himself over and over that the first person here that made him feel at ease in any way was Raleigh. He was Stiles' mentor, and he had to continuously tell himself that sometimes blind trust wasn't something to be avoided. He needed to trust Becket, swallow his pride, and not be a coward when it came to Derek Hale. Stiles inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. It was hard to ignore the knots suddenly becoming prominent in his stomach but as Allison stood and told Stiles it was time to start training, he pulled himself out of the erratic nerves enveloping his body and walked with her towards the stair case.

It was one of the first times that it was completely silent between the two of them, Stiles was focused on clenching and unclenching his fists and Allison's eyes were far away as she thought about something from a time before the clock started ticking again. The quiet between them made Stiles uneasy, since last night when his eyes fell into the gaze of a piece of their direct history, him and Allison hadn't been the same. He felt jostled in the slight comfortability he had found and as they neared the end of the long hall way where the simulation room was hidden, Allison's phone rang. She answered and her pace slowed, nodding, "Stiles," she called gently when she noticed the pilot trailing ahead of her, "Yes. Yeah... No, I mean- No, I just. Do you think he's ready? I mean, shouldn't they- Yeah... No, you're right. Okay. Alright, see you in a couple minutes." Stiles blinked at her through the lenses of his glasses before he reached up and scratched the top of his head, "I'm guessing that was...?" She sighed and nodded along with his words, "Yes, that was Raleigh. It looks like he's warming Derek up right now so..." Allison's eyes trailed across Stiles as he swallowed and tilted his chin down to stare at his feet.

It was difficult to process the emotions crawling around inside him, whether it was anger or fear, reserve or excitement, Stiles couldn't decide. His palms were sweating and he walked quickly to keep Allison from catching on to the tremble in his legs. Inhale through the nose. Exhale through the mouth. Amber eyes darted around as they descended down the stairs and he tried to focus on nothing but the sound his boots made against the cold metal.

He shoved his hands into his pockets to conceal the tremors that ran through them and took in a shaky breath when Allison pushed through the doors of the gymnasium. Stiles' voice came out strange and choked, "Oh, holy fucking hell..."

Raleigh and Derek were sparring on the raised padded mat in the middle of the room. Allison couldn't help but laugh when Stiles started backtracking, the word 'no' slipping over his lips again and again before she reached out and tugged firmly on his wrist. "Don't be a big baby, you've seen it before-"

"No! No, I have not! It's like watching two Greek gods punch each other, this is ridiculous, no-"

"Stiles!" Raleigh's voice broke through his hushed complaints and he turned on his heels, fumbling to catch his glasses when they almost toppled off his face. His mentors chest heaved up and down as he tried to catch his breath and Derek stood beside him, shoulders rising and falling. Stiles cleared his throat before he threw a venomous glare towards Allison out of the corner of his eyes. He stepped forward, his feet scuffing across the ground as he neared the two men. "This is-"

"Derek," his voice caught Stiles off-guard just as much as his smile had, it was low, soft, nothing to what Stiles had expected. He looked up, feigning as much strength as he possibly could when Derek's eyes crawled across him. "I know," Stiles' voice was surprisingly even and Raleigh arched a brow, "Do you? Well, then, to make this easier. Derek-" he gestured with one hand to Stiles, "Stiles, and Stiles," he gestured with the other, "Derek." The two pilots nodded and Stiles tried with all his might to keep himself from dissecting the colors muddled around the veteran's pupils. Derek was beautiful and he reminded Stiles of something that would be on display, something carved out of marble or stone. Something completely unreal. "You two," Raleigh waved his hand between them and pointed to the mat, "You know what comes next. Go on." Stiles' breath hitched before his eyes fell to his feet and he plucked his glasses from their home atop the bridge of his nose. Allison smiled at Stiles as she walked towards Derek, reaching up and tickling at the scruff on his cheek. Derek swatted at her hand and grumbled something under his breath that Stiles couldn't make out.

"Stiles," Raleigh was at his side with a hand rested on his shoulder, "just do your thing. He'll do his. Don't be nervous, alright." Stiles wanted to laugh but he raised his brows and cracked his neck instead, "Oh yeah, definitely a fair fight," amber eyes watched Raleigh and the blonde smirked, "Never said it was, Stilinkski."

Derek pushed Allison away gently as a coy smile payed across her lips, "Don't underestimate him," her words were quiet and she tilted her head to the side when the pilot rolled his eyes at her. He didn't say anything back, simply flicked his wrist and shooed her off the mat before his attention settled back on the lean boy who was currently handing Allison his glasses. Stiles stepped on the mat after directing a whispered 'wish me luck' to Allison who walked over to stand next to Raleigh.

He didn't expect Derek to try and kick his feet out from underneath him, but when Stiles jumped and landed back on his feet it took the alpha by surprise. Derek's fist struck inches from his face and Stiles jolted his head to the side, taking in a sharp breath when he locked on to jungle eyes. Derek didn't hesitate and after three attempts, knocked Stiles to the ground. "One," his voice was quiet and Stiles gritted his teeth, swinging a leg to slam against the back of Derek's knees causing him to buckle. Stiles' foot hit his chest and Derek fell back, "One for one," Stiles hissed, pacing back and forth in front of the startled pilot at his feet. It went on like that for a while, Derek knocking Stiles back, Stiles knocking Derek back, Stiles dodging, Derek smirking. "You're quick," Derek muttered, twisting the beta's arm until it bent back and Stiles fell to his knees with a yelp. "I'm a lot of things," his breathy words made Derek hesitate and Stiles flipped, knocking Derek to his back with his foot over his throat, "Where were we, big guy? Five for five?"

Stiles couldn't decide whether it was fear or pride driving him, but the adrenaline seeping into his veins masked any other emotion at this point. His body was warm, eyes focused, and his heart pounded excruciatingly against his rib cage. Derek's eyes narrowed dangerously and he grabbed Stiles by the ankle, slamming him down against the mat. Derek snatched one of his wrists and pinned it above his head as calloused fingers wrapped around Stiles' throat, "Six for five." Stiles didn't move. He didn't fight back or squirm or say a god damn thing. His chest rose and fell as he submitted underneath the alpha hovering above him. Stiles' eyes lingered across his face, from his sharp jaw, to the scratch of the stubble on his cheeks, down to the straight line of his nose and the up-right curve of his eyes. When Raleigh had tried to explain what it would be like to find his co-pilot, he hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected something so incredibly out of his control, something menacingly unforgiving and breathtaking. It wasn't only that the wind had physically been knocked out of him, but when Derek blinked and his brows rose, Stiles couldn't help by smile. "You okay?" Derek whispered, uncurling his fingers from around Stiles' throat who reached up to rub at the sore area, "Yeah. No, I'm fine." Honey eyes stayed glued to Derek who sat back on his heels and turned his attention to Raleigh who had his hand pressed across his mouth. His eyes were scrunched and he tilted his head to the side, heaving a long sigh, "Get geared for simulation."

Allison's head turned quickly and dark curls swayed around her shoulders, "You're serious?! They've only sparred once and-"

"You're telling me you need to see more?" Raleigh stepped up on to the mat and reached down to take Stiles' hand, hoisting him to his feet. Confusion played across Stiles' face like a symphony as his eyes darted back and forth between Allison and Raleigh. The knots in his stomach suddenly became prevalent and his anxiety began to once again wash over him in waves, "W-wait, I mean, I'm not saying we aren't compatible because-" he laughed through the last word, holding his index finger up to Raleigh, "but don't you think-"

"When you know, you know."

It was a feminine voice that echoed in the gymnasium and Derek nodded, lips pulling up into a small smile as his eyes lidded closed. A warm hand draped across his shoulder and Mako's small lips curled upwards, "My wolf," her words were gentle and she turned to set soft palms on either side of his face, "I didn't think I would see you again." Derek made her look frail and small as she stood before him and he reached up to grip her fingers, "I'm sorry." It was all he said before she stroked her thumb across his face, "I know." The room fell silent, Raleigh watched them with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and Stiles looked towards Allison whose eyes were glossy and darted around to keep her tears in check. Mako turned to look at Stiles and the wisdom behind her eyes made him shudder, "You," her voice was sharp and Stiles fidgeted nervously with his glasses, "I was wrong about you. And you," she looked to Derek and raised a brow, "I was wrong about you too." Stiles exhaled a shaky breath and tried to cover it with a small chuckle, "Yeah, well, people are wrong about me all the time so..." he watched her while his words faded and she nodded as she walked over to stand at Raleigh's side. "People are wrong about a lot of things," she turned her eyes up to her co-pilot who snaked an arm around her waist, lips splitting into a smile, "and when you know you know," he mumbled, eyes peeking down at Mako who brushed her fingers gingerly across the top of his hand.

It was strange to see them together. They were fierce and delicate, one complete being, and the sight of them made Stiles yearn for that strength, for that bond. It was as if they breathed in time, moved in rhythm of each other and when Raleigh looked at Stiles and then trailed his eyes to Derek it was obvious that he had made the right decision. Derek's eyes were a color Stiles had never seen before and as the alpha stepped off the mat and walked passed him towards the door he felt something sink within him. "Take a break, we'll meet for simulation in an hour," Derek's voice was rough and he looked over his shoulder as he walked, brows arching when he glanced to Stiles, "You're tough, kid."

Raleigh looked down at Mako and dug his fingers playfully into her side, "Told you," he mumbled, causing her to hiss and slap at his hand as she squirmed away from him. Allison wiped at her eyes with her fingers and Mako walked over to her to grip her arms gently. Stiles caught Allison muttering something about Derek being called 'wolf' and Mako was cooing lovingly at her, but his attention was snatched away by Raleigh, "I knew it." His voice was husky and rough, like always, "I knew that you and Derek would be good together. You're techniques are really fluid," he paused and Stiles rolled his eyes, "Except for the part where he kicked my ass." Becket shook his head and bumped his shoulder against Stiles', "No, he didn't kick your ass. That's what was different, you found a balance. You just got," he paused and his brow rose, "a little, uh, distr-"

Raleigh tried to mask his laughter and Stiles lips pursed together. "Do not!" Stiles spat before he turned away and stalked towards the doors of the gymnasium, leaving Raleigh calling to him about not being late to simulation training and that he should drink a lot of water. Then the words that he had nearly forgotten came out of Becket's mouth and crashed down around him like a hurricane. "You guys will be in drift for the first time," Raleigh noticed Stiles stop in his tracks, saw his bony fingers curl into trembling fists at his sides. Stiles searched the ground for answers with his lips parted and a distinct burn itching inside his chest. Drift. It didn't always work, that's what he had been told. Only some people could drift with one another, and it was always different with each person. Each drift was different in general. Memories collided, emotions intertwined and two people merged into one mind. One incredible machine. Stiles' breathing was shaky and he jumped when Allison's hand rested on his back, "Hey, hey... Relax," her voice was calming, it had been since he met her, and as she rubbed his back he realized that he was going to have to share his life with a complete stranger within the next hour.

"Take him to the garden, get him some water and let him calm down," steel blue eyes lingered over Stiles who shot a poisonous glare at Raleigh, "I'm fine," the pilot bit. Raleigh's eyes rolled and he scoffed, "You don't have to act all tough, I was fucking scared too. So was Derek when he first drifted. That's why we're doing a simulation, so you can get adjusted to each other's thought process and find a groove." Raleigh poked Stiles in the side of the head when he walked by, earning a growl and a string of curses from him as he disappeared through the door. Mako was close behind and she stopped momentarily to lift Stiles' chin with two fingers, dark eyes watching him carefully. Stiles swallowed and straightened his back as she opened her mouth, "Don't chase the rabbit." Her words were chilling and all Stiles could manage to do was nod as her lithe figure slinked through the door and down the hallway.

* * *

Stiles was completely unprepared for the exquisite gem hidden on the fifth floor and he was even more unprepared for Allison to call Scott and have him meet them there. "They wanted the pilots to have a zen area, somewhere to escape when things got," Scott paused and searched for an appropriate word, "hard." He wasn't the most eloquent guy Stiles had ever met, but he was the most honest and Stiles appreciated that more than anything.

The entire area inside was lush and over-grown with exotic plants. Mist hung in the air to keep their leaves damp and ceiling fans circulated above to keep the room well filtered with cool air. Lillie's lined the back wall, and rose bushes tangled themselves against potted plants on the floor. There were small benches set throughout the room, a few were settled againjst a couple fishtail palms and the others were strewn throughout the bricked boxes of orchids and lilacs. Ferns hung from the ceiling on long chains and a large crooked tree sat in the middle of the room. Stiles' gaze absently fell across the moss growing up its trunk and couldn't help but think of Derek's eyes. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, well, I can imagine things would be a little stressful when you're trying to beat an alien to death while simultaneously not letting your co-pilot's memories get in the way of, you know, the violence," he flailed his hands in the air, earning a laugh from Scott who sat back and idly ran his finger across the petal of an oriental lily. "You're gonna be fine," Scott mumbled as he looked over to Stiles, "I know I don't know you that well yet but you seem pretty grounded and Derek, he's," Scott paused and smirked. "Derek is interesting. He's been through a lot and he's seen a lot of things and I'm not gonna lie, drifting with him is going to be... intense," Stiles looked at the ground as he listened to the engineer, "but you two apparently did well in combat, so..."

Stiles could tell that Scott was running out of ways to make him feel better about the situation and as he rested his elbows on his knees and tapped his feet against the damp ground of the green house, Stiles found himself lost in the thought of sharing a consciousness. Scott had stood to go join Allison at the far end of the garden where she ran her hands over bushels of tiny pink flowers and Stiles couldn't help but smile when they looked at each other. He thought about his father, about Danny and school and his normal day to day routine back at Brown that seemed so mundane compared to his life now. His mind buzzed and the ringing in his ears made his head ache. The hour went be faster than Stiles had wanted it too and when Allison and Scott stood in front of him, he looked up and tried to smile, "Anything I should know before I do this?"

Both of them went rigid and Scott scratched nervously at the back of his neck while Allison turned her eyes towards the glass door leading out into the hall. "Raleigh will fill you in on what to expect," it was Scott who spoke and when Stiles pushed himself to his feet they started the walk to the simulation room.

They spoke on the way, Stiles mumbling questions about things like old memories and whether or not he should resist with some things or just try to pretend like it was a dream for most of it. Allison and Scott both replied that it would probably be best if he didn't resist, but cautioned him on relaxing too far into the fog due to the ability to get trapped in a string of memories. His heart pounded and Stiles dug blunt fingernails into the flesh of his palm, debating whether or not now would be another appropriate time to pray to the god that had abandoned them.

Derek was standing outside the room when they approached and Raleigh was across from him. They spoke quietly, mumbling things to one another as Becket hung his head and reached out to grip Derek's shoulder. Stiles could tell it wasn't a conversation he should interrupt, but Scott thought other wise. "Hey, so, you guys might want to like fill him in on some stuff before the whole," Scott made some sort of gesture with his hands between Derek and Stiles, "you know, fusion and flooding-"

"Scott," Derek's voice was pointed and Stiles flinched when he heard the sound of the mans teeth clank together. Scott blinked as Allison took him by the arm and curled her fingers in a wave to Stiles, a hushed 'good luck' slipping from under her breath as they left to walk back down the hall. Stiles was shaking, his arms, his legs, everything was shaking, and the last thing he needed was a veteran pilot catching on to his fear. So he straightened his back, breathed as evenly as he could and set his eyes on Raleigh, "What do I need to know?" The question was direct and Raleigh shuffled his feet to stare at the ground before biting down again and again on the inside of his cheek. "It's not that you need to know anything, Stiles," his mentor sighed, "It's a double edged sword, if I explain things about Derek to you and explain things about you to Derek it could hurt the process. One of you could be over-thinking it in drift and get harnessed." Stiles blinked a few times and shoved his hands in the pockets of the maroon pants he was wearing, "Harnessed?"

Derek cleared his throat, "Stuck. If we know too much about each other we could get stuck in the memory. It's a possibility that could happen anyways but it's better to go at it from a clean slate than to go in expecting to find something." Stiles nodded, it made sense but going in blind made him more uneasy than he had expected. Amber eyes brushed across Derek's hands and up his arms until he caught himself trapped between two bright green rings blinking across at him. They were both exhausted, Stiles from his night out and the combat session not too long ago, and Derek from the sixteen hour flight and the restless morning he had spent with Allison. "So," Raleigh looked at both of them and turned, waving a hand, "let's get started."

Stiles felt every bone in his body start to vibrate when Raleigh locked him into the metal limbs. He strained his eyes and took in breath after breath to try and slow the rapid beating of his heart. This was it. This was what being a Jaeger pilot was at it's core, a bond, a relationship between two minds that synced like a computer. He was trying in every aspect to keep himself as calm as he could and when he caught the glimpse of Derek wincing as Raleigh latched the steel backing against his spine, it shamefully made Stiles feel more human. "I don't even know you and I'm really sorry that Raleigh called you out here for me," Stiles didn't know why he let the words escape, but when the door slid closed behind Raleigh, the words came rushing out, "We literally just met two hours ago and now I'm going to be in your head, and fuck, man. I know you've done this before but I'm not-"

"Stiles," he froze when Derek said his name and looked over to him as the lights dimmed in the stark white room, "I need you to listen to me the whole time. Relax. And listen." Stiles swallowed and bit down on his bottom lip, "O-okay," he called out to the darkness and looked through the shield of his helmet before red letters began to flash across the interface. Raleigh's voice came over the speaker and asked them if they were ready. Derek looked over to Stiles who looked back at him and Stiles tried to nod, "Yeah," Derek didn't stop looking at him as he spoke, just kept nodding at Stiles who looked like he was a baby bird who had fallen from his mothers nest. Honey eyes blinked and he opened his mouth to protest, to ask for a minute, just to squeak out a 'wait' but it was two late and he choked.

Left Hemisphere Initiated

It started in his spine, the drift. It felt like a kind of heat he had never felt before and it rose agonizingly slow. His legs tried to buckle but the metal locking held him in place and Stiles gasped as the fire infiltrated his lungs and scorched his throat. It was like nothing he had felt before and he instantly wanted it to end, "Fuck, what the fuck," he tried to breath and he tried to listen to what Derek was yelling to him but his mind was too busy putting its efforts into exterminating the foreign body currently prodding at his nerve endings. Finally it hit the base of his neck and his eyes, which had been painfully squeezed shut, flew open.

The burn was gone but all he could see was white, like static behind his eyes. He could feel himself blinking again and again but the sheet didn't fade. "Stiles!" He could hear Derek in the distance, as if he was screaming to him from across a football field. The new pilot tried to speak but his throat constricted, so instead of putting his effort into speech he reminded himself to breath and sucked in air until he felt like he was going to pass out.

Right Hemisphere Initiated

Stiles could hear the robotic voice in the speaker of his helmet and as the last word was uttered he felt a jolt spark into the back of his neck. The heat was back and he tried not to whimper when it seared between his temples. He wanted to crumble, to fall to the floor of the room and stay there for hours. He wanted to dive into a pool of ice and never come to the surface. It wasn't even pain, it was pressure and heat, and his mind knew that it was being invaded which made him naturally resistant to the process.

Neural Bridge Active in 3... 2... 1...

The pain was gone. Just the fog and a white flash, until he was crashing, falling. His body was somewhere else and he felt infinitely small where ever he had gone. Stiles tried to breathe but it almost felt as though he had forgotten how. And then it happened.

A face. Places. Schools. Friends. It pulled him in like a tornado and twisted him again and again. A pretty girl with dark hair and dark eyes, a woman, tall and unconventionally beautiful. Words, so many words. Stiles finally breathed, sucking in air and shaking when he exhaled. Trees, beautiful tall trees and a pain all too familiar to him. The memories felt like cars slamming into him again and again and Stiles was having more than a hard time keeping a hold of each one. He could hear Derek's ragged breath and his desperate plea, "Stiles, don't," but his face was already there. Soft, with a square jaw and eyes the color of water. More laughter. He recognized the laugh, Allison, then another, Isaac. A few voices were unrecognizable, names he didn't know, places he hadn't been. His mind immediately latched to the ones he knew and it made the memory sharp and clear. Stiles took in a short breath, and squirmed against the locks that held him down as he drifted deeper and deeper.

"Jackson!"

That was his name, and it was Derek shouting it. His heart was racing, anxiety, fear, anger, adrenaline, it was all there and Stiles had no idea what was his and what was Derek's and what was left-over from the memory. "You need to hold on, Jackson, don't you fucking do this to me," Stiles' eyes filled with tears and he didn't try to control them as they slid down his cheeks. He could feel it, every bit of it. Every stitch of emotion Derek had felt when... Stiles audibly choked on a sob when he heard the strangers voice whisper something about a woman named Lydia. "C'mon, we're gonna get you out of here," he could see the man's face, Derek's co-pilot. Derek was crying. Jackson was crying. The mans chest was concaved with blue matter, sand, ocean water. Stiles tried to focus. Kaiju blue. It was peppered across Derek's forearms. The scars. Those scars. Stiles felt something stab into his gut and he bit down on his lip to keep quiet. It felt like someone had shoved their hand inside of him and twisted, pulled, gnawed on the bottom of his ribs. Stiles cried. He cried and tried to open his mouth to say something but there were no words, and once again he had to remind himself to breathe.

"Stiles!" Derek's voice.

The tears burnt and he tasted salt.

"Stiles, come back!" His voice again, feigning strength of his own.

Derek was trying to swim through Stiles' memories. To find him. To get to him. But Stiles was too complicated to make that easy. His memories surrounded him like moving pictures in a scrapbook, the first person he kissed was a girl, a pretty girl in eighth grade, and it was a peck on the lips. His second kiss was with a boy and it was his freshman year, a real kiss, a deep, long, sensual kiss that left Derek breathless in his mind. But the words that came after caught him like a fish on a hook, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about her. Claudia... She was-"

The pain hit and it too was familiar. An ache, a rip. Something completely out of the ordinary. Derek blinked and shook his head, calling to Stiles again and again with no answer. He had more control, he had to keep telling himself that in order to get to him. But something stopped the seasoned pilot dead in his tracks and it sent Derek's heart into a frenzy. "Code blue!" The words rang out between his ears like a siren and Derek felt his legs running even though he was grounded in place. His lungs heaved. His finger tips were numb. "Get him out of here!" It was a woman. Her outfit was yellow. She was wearing... She had on a mask. A nurse. She was a nurse. It was like the flood gates had been opened after Derek put two and two together and suddenly he was staring down at white floors and the air smelt like antiseptic and ace bandages. "We're losing her!" He could hear it. The machines. The noises they made were almost as frantic as his voice. He could hear Stiles. Hear him crying. Screaming. "M-mom, mom! C'mon, do something!" He was screaming. His hands were sweating and he had his phone pressed to his ear, stumbling over his tears and leaving voice mail after voice mail for a father that never did end up making it there that day.

Derek was clawing at the outside of the memory, digging at it, trying desperately to escape but the sound of the flat line instantly made him drop. He could feel it in his knees, when Stiles had fallen to the floor and Derek wasn't ashamed when tears stung at his eyes. The memory was prominent and it's strength took the breath away from Derek.

"Derek..." Stiles' voice was weak and worn but Derek followed it, calling back.

More memories. Stiles getting accepted to Brown. His father drinking. Danny. So many different voices, so many different languages. It was hard to decipher what was what but finally he broke through. It felt like he had been drowning and was sucking in his first breath of fresh air.

"Stiles! Look at me!" Derek snapped his head to the side, heaving in breath after breath, the relief of escaping the memory flooding through him.

Stiles could hear him, but his mind was still jostled. Something about a fire. Jackson. The Kaiju. A woman who had hair like flames. Allison. "You're my best friend," her sing song voice rang out and it gave Stiles a small sense of comfort.

Derek could hear Raleigh talking calmly through the speaker. Get him back. It's all he kept saying and the alpha was doing the best he could. "Stiles, I need you to focus on my voice. I need you to turn your head and look at me," Derek spoke slowly, firmly and grinded his teeth together when he didn't get a response. "Raleigh! He's chasing, I think he's harnessed-"

"Get him back," the rough voice was short and Derek's eyes rolled as he tried to concentrate. His mind ached from trying to bridge with Stiles, but he closed his eyes and breathed again, "Stiles!"

Stiles heard him again and as he peered through the tall trees in the forest in some rainy state and reminded himself to breath. "Come back!" His voice again. "Kid! Wake the fuck-"

Stiles gasped, wincing when his eyes blinked and he twisted his head to stare over at Derek whose eyes lidded in instant relief. When he opened them Stiles was still watching him, and they stayed like that for a moment, eyes searching for some kind of answer to what both of them had just seen. "You with me?" Derek's voice was shaky but he moved the shaft of the arm forward and Stiles matched his movement, nodding, "I'm with you."

They were exhausted through the rest of the simulation and Stiles flinched when the hologram of mangled teeth and blue liquid crashed down in front of him. His fear subsided, Derek's confidence washing over him. Left. Right. Dodge. He could feel it in his fingertips, in his toes, the way the Jaeger moved, the way Derek's body moved. Finally when the Kaiju fell and the words -simulation complete- flashed across the screen, Stiles took the time to inhale through his nose and exhale through his mouth.

When they pulled out of drift he was light headed and when the locks to his mock boots clicked open he stumbled into the pillar behind him. Derek hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, green eyes prying at Stiles, "Hey, you okay?" Stiles lifted his eyes and nodded when he tried to steady himself, but once again they stood stationary and looked at each other. It was strange to think that they had just spent time re-living each others memories, fighting them, battling their own demons and each others. Stiles felt like he suddenly knew Derek better than most people, but he wasn't naive enough to truly believe that. "I'm sorry," the words were rushed under Stiles' breath but Derek didn't seem to notice them.

Raleigh opened the doors and was at their side quicker than Stiles had expected him to be. "We almost lost you," his voice was warm and he smiled at Stiles whose eyes were heavy and whose body and mind were completely drained. "Sorry about that," Stiles' voice was raspy and he cleared his throat, reaching up to touch two fingers to the moisture on his cheek. He looked to Derek and swallowed when he saw the remnants of tears across the alpha's face as well. "It happens, I'm just glad he got you back. You guys did better than I expected for your first run, usually no one actually fights after the innitial drift," Raleigh patted Stiles on the back and glanced at Derek who nodded slowly, "Derek's done this more times than he can count so don't worry about it, you did good." Stiles didn't care much for talking or hearing about how bad or good he had done. All he wanted at this point was either a place where he could sleep or a place where he could talk to Derek privately about what had just gone on in his head.

The memories still stung and when Derek's eyes blinked at him Stiles couldn't help but look away. Raleigh guided them into the hall and told them to relax the rest of the day and to get something to eat. Stiles wrinkled his nose in protest but Derek shrugged, "I know, it sounds like the last thing you want to do but you need to get something in your system." Stiles nodded sheepishly and strained his eyes when he pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. Raleigh had scheduled them for training in the morning, dual combat and another simulation, but Stiles didn't know whether he was ready to be back inside Derek's head or not. The beta flinched when he looked to the end of the hall and saw the elevator doors close in front of Raleigh. "You're claustrophobic," Derek's voice was gentle and slow but none-the-less heat rose into Stiles' cheeks and he stammered over his words, "Y-yeah, since my-"

"I know," Derek tried to politely interrupt but Stiles still bit at his nails nervously. "So... I guess, food, sleep? I'd prefer sleep but if you think I should eat then I'll take your word for it," Stiles tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck and sighing as his mind finally started to calm down. "The first few minutes out of drift are weird," Derek mumbled, but he shoved his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants and gestured with his chin towards the stairs, "text Allison and Scott. We'll grab Isaac on the way and go out for fish."

Stiles narrowed his eyes when Derek walked away but he complied and slid his phone out of his pocket to send a few quick texts. It was obvious that Derek was avoiding being alone with him, and that was for good reason because if Stiles did have him alone he wouldn't be able to help questioning the experience they had just shared. Stiles sighed while he paced to catch up to him and tried to shove the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn't blame Derek for his reserve, Stiles had reservations of his own, but for some reason the beta couldn't help but want to dance with the skeletons in Derek's closet.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to all my readers. I'm not as happy with this chapter as I'd like to be but please bare with me :] I'm over at .com if you'd like to say hi**

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Isaac didn't seemed surprised when Derek walked through the door of his office without hesitation. The doctor was seated at his desk and his eyes darted across a few messy stacks of paper work. He looked up and smirked when he saw Derek standing with his arms folded over his chest.

"Derek Hale," Isaac's voice was sultry and he lifted a brow when the alpha rolled his eyes, "I have to say, I didn't think I would ever see you around here again." There was something in his voice that made Stiles look at his feet and dig his thumbs into the pockets of his pants. It was pointed and bitter- his tone made Derek's jaw tighten, "Yeah, well, Raleigh needed me. We're going into the city, do you want to come?"

Isaac tilted his chin up and pulled the sleeves of his white lab coat away, setting it on the back of his chair as he stood, "Raleigh needed you? How convenient."

They watched each other as Stiles shuffled his well-worn boots against the floor. The tension in the room was uncomfortably high and the young ranger didn't quite know what to do, he cleared his throat awkwardly, "You know, I feel some animosity here so if you don't mind I'm just gonna go meet Allison and Scott-"

"No, no, I'll go," Isaac's voice wasn't any less bitter and his eyes stayed fixed on Derek who nodded slowly, "I'll go and we can all pretend like nothing happened, right? We can just go on as if the past nine months didn't affect a single person besides-"

"Isaac!" Derek's voice thundered and Stiles flinched, taking a step back, "We will discuss what happened later. Right now I am inviting you out for a drink and food, if you want to bitch at me then we can do it another time. Allison and Scott are outside waiting for us, are you coming or should I schedule a time when you can properly-"

"Don't sass me, Hale," Isaac spat before his eyes trailed across Stiles. The room grew quiet and Stiles tried not to stumble over his words as he scratched idly at the back of his head, "Well, uh, alrighty then... I am, uh, I'm just gonna, yeah, go now-"

After a long pause Isaac lolled his head to the side and heaved an exaggerated sigh, "I'll go with you."

It was all Dr. Lahey said before Derek nudged his shoulder towards the door.

Stiles tried to flip through the memories Derek had reluctantly shared with him but the only piece that stuck out was the flash of bright blue eyes, how they filled with tears and the echo of Derek pleading for a man named Jackson to hold on. The memory ached and when Stiles' eyes fluttered shut, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Stiles," he blinked and took in a sharp breath when Derek tilted his head to the side and gazed back at him, "You okay?"

The tinge of comfort in the older mans voice made Stiles look away as he swallowed, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I just..." he shook his head and let a sigh fall over his lips. Derek squeezed his shoulder but was shoo'd out of the way as Isaac batted his hands in front of the rangers chest, "Let me look."

Stiles hissed when a bright light flashed across his eyes and he tried to take a step backwards but Isaac gripped his arm, "No, no, stay still." The doctor plucked the glasses off of Stiles' nose which made the pilot strain his eyes and tilt his head away from the harsh flash light, "I'm just tired, can you get that thing out of my face."

"Pupils are dilated, looks like you have some back-lash, Stiles," Isaac cleared his throat.

Something stirred behind Stiles' rib cage before he took in a shaky breath, "Back-lash?" The beta mumbled a 'thank you' to Isaac when he handed him back his glasses and scuffed his feet against the ground as they started pacing towards the stair case. Derek trailed behind and tugged at the hem of his black shirt as they descended towards the open hangar doors, "It's something that happens after drift, a kind of scar, I guess."

Stiles still couldn't comprehend how smooth his voice was.

"Is anything coming back? Is it your memories or is-"

"They're your memories," Stiles' voice was quiet and Derek looked away to try and find just about anything else in the room to set his eyes on besides the boy at his side. Stiles chewed on the inside of his cheek and ran blunt nails across the flesh of his palm, "Are we going to talk about what we both just went through or is there some weird terminology against us, oh, I don't know, getting to know each other before we skip down memory lane again?"

Derek's jaw tightened and his teeth gritted, "It's complicated."

"Yeah well so is French but I picked that up pretty..." his voice faded as he watched Isaac's brisk pace slow and halt in front of them. Something inside him screamed as he pulled his eyes to the woman standing in the doorway of the west exit. She had that Disney princess kind of beauty, with bright pink lips, doe eyes and perfectly curled strawberry ringlets hanging delicately passed her shoulders.

Lydia

Stiles blinked again before he sucked in a sharp breath. That was her. The woman from his memories, the one with the soft laugh and pompous voice.

The one that Jackson had spoken about.

He reached his hand up and rested it against the side of his head to try and soothe the ache that was now creeping from his temple down to the base of his neck. It was exhausting to try and search through memories that weren't his to begin with, none-the-less to attempt to do it in the shape he was in. "Back-lash, huh," Stiles mumbled but when he looked up the hair on the back of his neck rose. Lydia's heels tapped against the linoleum floor and her steady gaze raked across Derek like he was something far off in the distance that she could barely make out. Isaac followed her with his eyes as she brushed passed him and when Stiles opened his mouth to speak, a gasp replaced whatever words were about to grace the silence.

Lydia's open palm crashed against Derek's cheek and Stiles lifted a hand to cover his now gaping mouth.

Isaac was at Lydia's side before she swung another slap in his direction and he caught her arm as hushed words attempted to dismantle her flustered growls. Stiles could see her shaking, he could see the tremors in her fingertips and he could almost feel the hatred brimming over her mascara coated eye lashes. The doctor wound his arms around her waist and pulled her back when she snapped her wrist and lunged her free arm at the un-moving pilot in front of her. Derek's eyes were focused on the ground and his fingers were curled into tight, shaking fists. Stiles trailed his eyes across the alphas face to the red mark that was blooming across his left cheek. He flinched behind his glasses and Stiles couldn't help but also point his gaze at the floor, peeking up only once when Isaac finally hauled Lydia away. The beta turned to watch them go and Isaac glanced over his shoulder to jut his chin towards the exit, giving the two pilots a clear signal to leave.

Amber eyes flicked over at Derek who was still starring absently at the ground. His mouth was parted and Stiles felt a knot grow in his stomach as he watched the man try to catch his breath, "Derek," he tested the name and took a step forward, "are you-"

"Yeah," his voice was rushed, "I'm fine."

Stiles wanted nothing more than to ask what that was all about, to pry, to dive head first into Derek's past but the look on the other ranger's face told him that now was not the time. The dark haired pilot took in a shaky breath, eyes fixed on the ground, "We're not discussing-"

"Derek," Stiles interrupted and his eyelids fell shut, teeth set together behind his lips. Derek finally lifted his gaze and watched Stiles as he shook his head back and forth and fidgeted with the rim of his glasses, "let's just go eat."

Stiles didn't want to admit that he breathed a sigh of relief when Derek visibly relaxed, he didn't want to sit back and be comforted in the placid silence that was currently hovering above them. He wanted to scream and stomp his feet, to take the alpha by the shoulders and shake him back and forth. He didn't know whether it was the back-lash that stung at his mind or the persistent burn of curiosity that had his lips sealed shut but something bit at the weakness in his chest. The part that felt bad for Derek. Maybe it was how ridiculous he looked when he sported an expression of defeat or maybe it was that Stiles was familiar with the pain the other ranger had felt just moments prior. Either way, it wasn't the time or place to berate him about Lydia.

Green eyes peeked at him from under an array of thick lashes and Stiles pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, "C'mon," he mumbled while he watched Derek and pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose.

They walked through the busy hangar, Derek's vans squeaking every now and again when they scraped the polished floor. The light outside Shatterdome was bright and harsh but Stiles smiled warmly when he laid his eyes on Allison and Scott.

"Took you guys for-fucking-ever. Did you get lost or-" Scott was pushed lightly out of the way when Allison grasped Derek's chin between her index finger and thumb. She pulled gently so that he moved to the side and she shook her head when he mumbled that it was 'only expected.' The combat specialist grimaced when she saw the small red marks from Lydia's fingertips but his rugged five o'clock shadow concealed most of the hand-print. "It'll go away," he assured, pawing at Allison's tight grip on his chin. Scott tilted his head to the side and shot a smile over to Stiles who, once again, felt like he had been shoved into a situation that he knew nothing about.

Lydia's face flashed behind amber eyes and Stiles winced as he swallowed a shaky breath. She had caused a storm in his mind that refused to be silenced.

"Stiles?" It was Scott's voice and he shook his head, blinking over at him, "You alright?"

Derek cleared his throat, "He's got some back-lash."

Allison whined playfully and reached over to squeeze Stiles' hand, "It'll go away in time. It usually only happens to stubborn rangers," she moved her eyes accusingly at Derek and wrinkled her nose.

"Don't look at me like that," Derek muttered as he walked over to a sleek black Range Rover and opened the drivers side door. Scott shouted 'shotgun' over and over again and tugged annoyingly at the door handle until it unlocked.

Stiles sat in the back with Allison and they jabbered about what her and Scott had been doing while they had been in simulation. Allison shrugged and explained a few things about Striker Eureka and that some kinks were being made to the T-16 Angel Wings. It was fascinating to listen to her speak, her enthusiasm was inspiring and Stiles loved that she could go on and on about the complexities of Jaeger technology, because he could listen to it for hours. Scott would chime in every now and then with small fillers about maneuvers or how the mech could compensate for it's ability to use 'speed bursts' to confuse the Kaiju. It was a lot, more than Stiles could comprehend, but it coaxed a smile to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"You guys are gonna be in Lionheart, right? I've been doing some adjustments on her shoulder canons, they should be in tip top shape for whenever you two actually get to drop," Scott looked over the back of his seat to Stiles who lifted his shoulders and shook his head, "I think we're kind of jumping the gun here but-"

"Yeah," Derek's voice was firm as he looked across to Scott and shoved the car into park, "We'll be in Lionheart but we won't be on the field for at least a month, you know that."

Stiles felt his heart beat accelerate and his eyes widened. They had gone through their hand to hand, they had simulated a drift sequence and successfully completed the test mission but it hadn't occurred to him that Derek Hale was now his co-pilot. Not completely. Not realistically. Somewhere in the back of his mind Stiles thought something was going to go horribly wrong and they would be back at square one, Derek would go back to wherever he came from-

Oregon.

Trees. Beautiful trees. A city with gray skies, a town surrounded by streams, a house in the middle of the woods.

Fire.

Stiles was gasping and he scrambled to grip at Allison's hand when he heard her shout something to Derek. "What the fuck is this shit," he whined painfully as clear honey eyes squeezed shut. He could hear the drag of seat belts and he could feel Allison's soft hands gripping his trembling fingertips.

More trees.

Smoke.

"Stiles!"

It was Derek this time and he felt warmth when the back door on the passengers side swung open. Sunlight stung his eyes and he breathed out a sigh of relief when the ache in the center of his forehead dissipated. He slouched back in his seat with his eyes closed, chest rising and falling. "I-I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I have no idea... I don't..." Stiles couldn't keep the words from stumbling over his lips and he winced when he looked over and saw Allison's face. Her hands were shaking and she had them cupped across her mouth, "Are you okay...?" Her words were whispered when she finally let her hands fall and reach back over to touch Stiles' thigh.

"Y-yeah, is this... Is it always like this," he turned to look at Derek who had his knees bent and was leaning against the open door. The alpha shook his head and breathed a soft sigh, "No, it's not always like this. Some people don't get back-lash, some get very little, others get more than they'd like."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "I told you sleeping would have probably been a bett-"

"No," Derek shook his head, "Sleep just means nightmares. Trust me."

Scott hopped out of the car, shut his door and walked over to peek his head through the space between Derek's arm and chest, "Don't be embarrassed. Derek's had a full on panic attack over back-lash before and- ow, okay, I'm sorry. I'm done, ow, please," Derek's fingers pinched at the soft skin on Scott's tricep and dragged him away.

Inhale through the nose. Exhale through the mouth.

Stiles cracked his knuckles and looked over to Allison who nodded back at him, "I haven't seen someone react to backlash like that in almost a year but... it will fade in time," she whispered through a small smile. He watched as she shifted closer to him and bit down on his bottom lip when she rubbed his shoulder gently, "Do not beat yourself up over this. You didn't get a lot of sleep, you've been through more mentally and," she paused as her eyes flicked to Derek who was still prodding at Scott outside the car, "emotionally than most people will go through in a lifetime. The drift is incredible but your mind isn't going to be able to process everything at once so Derek's memories are now cataloged in your frontal cortex." Her index finger poked between his eyebrows and Stiles nodded as he tried to capture all the information Allison was throwing at him, "It's only natural for your brain to analyze the foreign memories and when that happens some pilots get back-lash."

Stiles chewed on the inside of his cheek as his eyes moved from Allison to Scott and Derek, "That makes sense, I just... I'm-"

"He's scared too," her words were quiet and she nodded through them as her eyebrows pulled together, "remember that."

The restaurant that Scott insisted they ate at was settled on a street corner across from the harbors in downtown, it's walls were painted a deep red and the tables were simple with gold and white embellishments splashed across the backs of the creaky chairs.

Stiles was quiet, smiling and nodding along with whatever his friends were talking about. He didn't want to be trapped or to feel like he wasn't meant for this, but the more he thought back on the episode in the car it was almost inevitable. The only thing he could focus on was the short stabs of pain in his fingertips as he pulled and tugged at his nail beds, trying with all his might to soothe the anxiety rising and falling in his stomach. It was as if he had lost his balance and was about to topple over the edge of something far more terrifying than he had ever expected it to be. Drift had been explained to him, he had read about it, watched it, seen the rangers when they did interviews but he had never wondered if there was a chance it wouldn't work the way it was said to.

Everything in life has a price, he just wasn't expecting this one to be so tolling.

Someone's foot brushed against his and he lifted his eyes to meet Derek's gaze from the other side of the table. Jungle eyes picked him apart and scraped him raw in the dimly lit and overly-crowded eatery, but Stiles didn't have the energy to look away or string together something sarcastic to say. Instead, he simply bumped the toe of his boot against his co-pilots shin. Derek raised his eyebrows and nodded as he sucked in a breath through his nose. Stiles narrowed his eyes but caught on when Derek tilted his chin down and inhaled again, a calm stare urging him on. He took in a deep breath through his nose, watching as Derek's mouth parted and he exhaled, following suit. It was unnerving to have someone he had just met this morning know something so intimate about him, to have a stranger know one of the only ways to calm him down. The dark haired pilot cleared his throat and Stiles jerked his eyes away, curling his nails into his palms when he realized he hadn't looked away from the mans lips.

"Oh my god, Stiles, you can speak Chinese, right?" Scott bounced up and down in his chair and Stiles pushed his glasses up, "Yeah," he laughed gently, "Yeah, Scott, I can speak Chinese. Technically it's Mandarin but yes, I can."

The tense cluster of nerves that had been settled in the middle of his chest had started to subside as Scott rambled about how awesome it was that he knew so many languages and how much they needed someone like him at Shatterdome. Stiles shook his head, "I was going to be a translator before I came here," he mumbled against the side of a small teacup, "but you know, sometimes life throws something at you that you just can't resist."

Allison smiled over at Scott, "I know the feeling," she scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

Scott flashed a toothy grin, "I am irresistible."

Stiles let his fingertips crawl across the patterns on the laminated menu in front of him, pointing when the waitress appeared at his side, "柑橘鸡，请。荷兰豆和蜂蜜为好。谢谢."

The woman nodded and walked around to Allison who ordered a small salad and some type of raw fish, Scott who simply pointed at a picture on the menu and said 'that' and to Derek who politely ordered some kind of goat and sweet bread.

They ate quietly, Allison asking Stiles a question about his school every once in a while and Scott inquiring about Danny when his old room mate was mentioned. Stiles felt his stomach sink when he thought about his best friend back on campus and he swallowed a piece of the citrus chicken on his plate. "I miss my friends," Stiles whined playfully as he pushed out his bottom lip and Scott rocked into his shoulder gently, "Yeah, yeah, well you have us now and it isn't like you can't keep in touch. I still stay in contact with a few of my friends back home, too." Allison nodded, "I didn't really have many friends but when I got here I met Derek," she smiled over at the ranger whose lips curled gently, "and then I met Lydia and..." her voice faded and she turned her eyes to the table.

The white elephant that had been roaming around Shatterdome was now standing in the corner of the tiny sea-side restaurant and Stiles gritted his teeth, "Jackson, right?"

Three pairs of eyes locked on to him immediately and Allison's mouth dropped open when the name was finally spoken aloud. Scott took in a rushed breath and busied himself with his food as Allison stammered to try and find something to say. Derek peered at Stiles and he sat back in his chair, nostrils flaring, "Yeah, Stiles," the way Derek said his name made him immediately regret his insistent need to be brave, "Lydia and Jackson were married."

Stiles plucked the glasses from his face and set them on the table as his teeth gnawed on the soft flesh of his bottom lip, "Makes sense now," he mumbled, more to himself than anything else.

Derek nodded but he didn't look at Stiles and Stiles didn't look at him, they just bumped their feet against each other underneath the table.

Before Stiles could register whether Derek was trying to tell him it was alright, or give him some other kind of hidden message, a ring came from the small purse hung over the back of Allison's chair.

"Hello..." there was a long pause and Allison pushed her plate away, eyes darting up to Derek, "We're coming. We're coming now. Striker, is she? Yeah, no, the repairs are done. No! We're on our way... Just, Raleigh... No, I want to see-" A growl rumbled in her throat as she shoved the phone back in her purse and slung the strap over her shoulder.

Scott threw a few bills in the center of the table.

"Category five, they're sending Striker," Allison took in a shaky breath and Scott rubbed her back reassuringly as they all climbed quickly into Derek's car. The two field specialists sat in the back and Stiles tried to catch up to the situation in his mind as Derek swerved around cars and blew through red lights on the busy streets of Hong Kong.

"They'll be fine, they're always fine," Scott whispered softly as he pulled Allison into his chest.

Stiles reclined his seat and turned to face them and watched his combat trainer stare wide-eyed out the window, "Allison," he said her name gently and she raised her eyes to blink back at him, "they're coming back."

He didn't know why he felt the need to reassure her, or to reassure Scott or even himself, but something inside him said it wouldn't be right unless he did. It wouldn't feel right unless he did. His own heart was twisting behind his ribs and he could feel his nerves vibrating on the inside of his knee caps and elbows. This was a situation he had not prepared himself for and it was apparent that even if he had tried, nothing could have softened the blow.

Boyd and Erica were about to go to war. His friends were about to climb into a machine, walk into the middle of the ocean and battle a Kaiju. His hands shook as he reached up and grabbed his glasses to clean them with the tail of his shirt. It didn't seem real, none of it did. The entire day had been a blur and Stiles half-expected to simply wake up in his bed with Allison knocking at his door telling him that it was time for breakfast. He wouldn't find a partner. Derek wouldn't exist. He would be told to go back to Brown and he would live the normal life he had built for himself. The life that he had almost forgotten about over the passed few weeks.

But he didn't wake up and Stiles closed his eyes as he inhaled a trembling breath.

The car stopped and Derek was the first one to get out. Stiles was next with Scott and Allison following close behind. The hangar doors were open and helicopters circled above Shatterdome like vultures over a rotting carcass. The entire facility was alive and moving. Technicians checked every inch of Striker Eurkea as they prepared her for departure and as Allison ran passed Stiles and Derek she stumbled when the helmet to the giant Jaeger was lowered.

"They're already... We didn't..." Her voice was choked and Stiles saw her lips start to shake.

Scott ushered her quickly to the elvator, shouting over his shoulder to meet them in the control room. Derek looked to Stiles who nodded back at him and they climbed the four stories to the large windowed room. Chills ran up Stiles' spine as they walked quickly through the doors where Raleigh, Mako and the others were watching the many monitors lining the tall walls.

"Erica!" Allison was shouting into a speaker, her hands cupped around the microphone.

"Hey, baby girl! You gonna route for us out there?" Erica's voice echoed in the room and Allison's mouth shook and she lifted her hand to rest over her chest, "Of course," she breathed into the microphone, "You two kick some ass and..." her voice faded but Erica purred, "You know we will."

Boyd was laughing in the background, "Category five, code name Tsume. We've got him right off the coast."

Mako snaked an arm around Allison and pulled her away from the microphone as she whispered that they were strong and to take a deep breath. Stiles stood next to Derek and Scott with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants. He wanted to say something, to say that they made him feel welcome when he thought that he was an outcast and that if they didn't come back he didn't know what would happen. But instead he sealed his lips together and chewed anxiously on his cheeks until they were raw and sore.

"Marshall Herc and Marshall Argent on deck," one of the workers stated loudly to the room as he opened the double doors for the two senior officers. Herc Hansen was tall and worn with old tattoos on his forearms and an aged leather jacket wrapped around his shoulders. A set of dog tags hung between his collar bones and they were almost identical to the ones that Raleigh also had around his neck.

He could only imagine what it was like to carry the weight of fallen soldiers with them everywhere they went and his throat burned when he thought back on the panic in Derek's eyes and the torture in his voice when Jackson laid dying in his arms. Stiles shook his head and pinched the inside of wrist again and again, fighting to urge to delve deeper into the shadowed memory.

Herc set his hand on Raleigh's shoulder and breathed out a sigh, "What're we lookin' at?"

The ranger pointed to the screen with his finger and sighed, "Nothing uncommon, Lydia told us from it's heat signature that it's got some big ass hands so-"

"Claws, Mr. Becket. I believe the word I used was claws," Lydia's voice was just as it had sounded in Derek's memories and Stiles visibly stiffened when he heard her heels click against the floor as she walked towards the two men. Derek swallowed and Stiles could have sworn that he felt the rangers fingertips brush against his waist.

"We named it Tsume for a reason, it seems as if this particular Kaiju has a fetish for bad manicures. Now, may I?" the red head reached for the microphone and Herc held his hands to show two open palms, "Please, Mrs. Whittmore."

Stiles felt something sink into the pit of his stomach when he looked over at Derek and saw how the mans eyes fell shut.

Lydia hummed, "My Eureka team," her voice was crisp and when she spoke her lips parted into a smile that Stiles couldn't have described even if he wanted to, "This Kaiju's main weapon will be close-range. It has claws that will do extreme damage if you let it get close enough. Use your missiles and try to keep distance between the two of you."

When Lydia stepped back from the microphone the building began to shake. The Jaeger was pulled forward on large rotating wheels and when it left the hanger it was lifted by thick cables and flown out to the open ocean.

Chris Argent was talking to Allison in low whispers, rubbing her shoulders and offering soft smiles as she shook her head back and forth. It was obvious that she didn't take this very well, and Stiles didn't blame her. The Marshall was clean cut and the resemblence between the two was uncanny.

"Hey," Stiles' voice cracked when he tried to speak and he closed his eyes, huffing an irritated sigh, "So, what about back-up? Shouldn't we send another team out just to make sure they complete the mission?" Derek nodded and pointed towards the open doors of the hangar, "I'm sure they're sending someone from one of the other stations. There's no way they would send Striker out to breach with a category five and no defense."

Although it made Stiles feel better to know that his friends weren't out there fighting alone, it didn't make him anymore comfortable knowing that they were currently on their way to battle a creature that was specifically designed to exterminate the human race. He shifted his weight and let his eyes dart from monitor to monitor as he lifted his hand up to his mouth and started chewing absently on his fingertips. The control room was full of quiet chatter, Herc was speaking with Lydia and Raleigh, Chris was consoling Allison and Scott was now babbling about the inconvenience of surprise Kaiju and that they needed to work on the accuracy of the war clock.

"Hale," the Marshall's voice was firm and Derek nodded to Herc as he saluted the ranger with two fingers, "Glad to see you're back, and I also see you've found yourself a new co-pilot?" The man walked forward and offered his hand which Stiles took gratefully, "It's an honor," the beta smiled through his words amd Herc smirked, "The honor's mine. Raleigh speaks highly of you, have you already drifted?"

The two nodded simultaneously and Derek noticed that Stiles shifted awkwardly, "Yeah, this morning."

Hansen's eyebrows rose and he flicked his gaze from Stiles to Derek and back again, "Well, I suspect it's not going to be easy for you two so take it slow and make sure you're seeing Isaac daily," he nudged his chin towards Stiles who nodded dumbly.

"Herc, we have it on screen..." Lydia's sharp voice had disintegrated into something weak and soft as she gazed at the panel that flashed in front of the windows.

Stiles took in a sharp breath when the beast manifested from the ocean waters. The camera was built into Striker's helmet and it allowed for the rest of the team to see the progression of the Kaiju's fighting abilities, but it also reminded everyone who wasn't in a Jaeger and didn't get the chance to experience a monster like Tsume, that they weren't something to underestimate.

The screen was clearer than Stiles expected and he took a step forward to get a better look at what Boyd and Erica were currently staring at out in the middle of the Pacific. Tsume sported a large scaled body with a small cranium and long strong arms. He was almost humanoid, but his back was hunched by the weight of dense bone that jutted out of his spine and lined his back. The Kaiju's arms were lengthy and his reptilian hands flared out where long jagged claws tore through the thick hide. Like all of the aliens, Tsume had the traditional blue duvets on his chest, around his eyes and at the base of the spines on his back.

"Missile detonation in 3... 2... 1," Erica's voice came over the loud speaker and the screen shook when Striker's chest slid open and six long-range missiles were fired at the beast across from them.

They hit the target and Tsume fell back into the water with a strangled screech that made Stiles flinch and shrink back to his place next to Derek and Scott. The screen tried to adjust as water streaked across the lens and trembled as Striker took a few steps forward.

The screen was jostled again as the Kaiju's spiked tail knocked into Striker and made the Jaeger tumble backwards beneath the waves. Allison took in a strangled breath and clumsily reached out to Scott who pulled her against his chest. Stiles closed his eyes for a moment and reminded himself to breathe.

"Titan!" Boyd's voice was sharp, "Light him up!"

Stiles pulled his brows together as another Jaeger came into view from behind Tsume, a large forest colored mech with pale yellow accents. His voice was soft as he tilted his head to the side and blinked through the lenses of his glasses, "Who is..."

"Titan Omega," Derek was smiling and he shook his head back and forth, "The German team." The alpha snorted through a small laugh when he looked over to Raleigh who had his tongue stuck between his teeth, sporting a childish grin.

"You finally got them tame enough to send out?" Derek looked to Raleigh who shrugged and glanced over his shoulder, "No, I just sent them out anyways."

Stiles could hear the irritation in Chris's sigh as he watched the monitor and he could feel the small amount of playful tension currently filling the room as Titan Omega charged across the waters and hurdled itself at the massive Kaiju. Small canons lifted from his wrists and propelled small tight shots at the creature before landing strong blows into its chest. The view became distorted as Striker bounded forward and the view of the fight soon became a blurred wave of colors and water. The sounds were guttural and made Stiles turn his eyes to the floor. It reminded him of roars or screams, and it was something completely different than anything he had ever heard but after a few minutes the last screech echoed through the room and Stiles couldn't help but smile when Erica's voice came over the loud speaker.

"This is Striker Eurkea confirming their eleventh kill!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Scott kissed the top of Allison's head as she sank against him. Derek clapped along with everyone and Stiles smiled to himself as he looked to the two Marshall's who spoke through relieved smiles to one another. Even Lydia smiled as she smoothed her hands over the front of the long white lab coat draped across her and turned on her heels to walk out of the room. Derek's eyes followed her and Stiles saw him swallow uncomfortably when she flicked her gaze to stare back at him before walking through the double doors and taking her leave.

"Nice job, rangers, now report back to base," Marshall Argent cleared his throat, "and to our new Titan Omega team, congratulations on your first kill."

Raleigh clapped his hands together and barked a laugh when Mako slapped his arm, bickering something about how 'unprepared' the German rangers were. "Seems to me they did just fine," he purred before curling his fingers gently against the dip of her lower back. The small woman rested a hand on her hip and shook her head back and forth, eyes rolling towards the ceiling when Raleigh tugged her to press snugly against his side.

It was a surreal experience to watch Striker Eureka and Titan Omega battle. Stiles couldn't differentiate the excitement from the fear that was currently radiating from him, but both were prevalent. Amber eyes felt around the room, from the workers turning knobs and entering data to the Marshall's now walking out with paperwork in both of there hands and then back to Derek who was nodding to Scott and Allison as they spoke about how quick the fight was and how relieved they were that it went smoothly.

They walked from the control room to the floor of the hangar where Derek stalked off by himself to stare up at Lionheart who stood in the corner of the room. Stiles watched him for a moment, let his eyes trail across the rangers messy dark hair and raked his gaze down the his curve of his spine to where his hands were shoved into the back pockets of his jeans.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Scott's voice made Stiles jump and he pushed at his glasses as he stumbled over his words, "Oh, y-yeah, yeah, she's uh..." his voice evened out and he looked back over to the Jaeger and to the more interesting subject standing at her feet, "She's something alright."

When he turned back to face them Allison's eyebrows were raised and her smile told Stiles that she wasn't as oblivious as Scott was to his curious eyes. He wrinkled his nose at her and she shook her head before her attention was aimed at the hangar doors where Striker Eureka was being lowered onto the wheeled platforms. Her boots locked down and once they placed her back next to Gipsy Danger long, thick cables came down to latch on to her shoulders and chest piece. Sparks toppled off the damages that were sprayed across her right leg and on the left side of the abdominal piece. Stiles watched as the helmet was shot back to the fourth floor Drivesuit room and it wasn't but five minutes later that the elevator doors opened and Erica and Boyd stepped out.

The room erupted into applause as the two walked forward, Erica's wild blonde curls were splayed over the black armor and she held tight to Boyd's hand as he looked down at her and squeezed gently between her fingertips. Stiles glanced at his feet and rubbed his fingers together as he listened to the commotion in the room die down and pushed the feeling of being completely inferior to the side before he smiled to the pilots.

Erica squinted as she walked towards them and Boyd's eyes widened when they both recognized the handsome smile beaming at them from across the room.

Derek licked across his lips and tried to stifle a laugh when Erica ran forward and flung her arms around his shoulders, "Derek! You son of a bitch, where have you been?!"

Stiles could hear the excitement in her voice and smiled when Boyd also pulled Derek into a tight hug and told him that it had been far too long since they'd seen each other. The dark-haired pilot nodded and reached up to rub his palm leisurely over the scratchy stubble on his cheek, "Raleigh sent for me," he mumbled, eyes following Erica as she walked over and wrapped her arms securely around Stiles.

Amber eyes rolled when the woman swayed him back and forth but he smirked when she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss against his cheek, "Is it exhilarating?" he asked softly. Erica raised a thin brow and her smile broke for a moment as she reached forward and took off his glasses to set them on her own face, "Yes," she mumbled. He tilted his head to the side as she blinked playfully through the lenses of his glasses, "Were you scared?" he whispered. Erica's lip sank and she wrapped her arms back around him, lips brushing across his ear, "I'm always scared."

Stiles gripped his fingers into her back as she pressed tighter into the hug and he heard her breath tremble when he told her he would lend her a shoulder or an ear anytime she needed it. Their hushed conversation was shattered when the strong woman over-heard her co-pilot laugh, "Really, now? You and Stiles?"

Her head jerked back and she stared at Stiles, ripping his glasses from her face to let them dangle between her fingers, "You-" Stiles heard her voice catch and a laugh was pushed from deep in her chest, "You guys are-"

"Yeah...?" Stiles questioned before he reached out to take his glasses back, "I guess it's kind of an official thing now."

Deep caramel eyes blinked from Stiles to Derek and she grinned at both of them, which made Stiles blush and lift a hand to run nervously through his hair, "Holy shit... I never thought," her eyes fell on Derek who nodded slowly as his smile became small and coy, "I never thought you'd have another co-pilot but that's amazing. This is amazing, you two will be fantastic!"

Stiles looked at the ground as he set his glasses back on his nose and stepped away from Erica when she started bouncing on her heels, "I'm so excited, this is so fucking exciting!"

Scott grinned and bounced along with her, nodding enthusiastically, "I was telling them about the core adjustments I've made to Lionheart's shoulder canons and, oh! I also re-calibrated the coolants above her elbows which will pack a mean punch if you guys ever need to use them and-"

"Calm down, both of you," Derek's voice was a sigh, "We still have a long way to go." Forest eyes moved to Stiles and he lifted his chin, blinking at the beta as he folded his arms across his chest, "It's only been one day. We still need to go through more simulations, move in to the apartment and-"

"Apartment?" Stiles raised his brows and his mouth fell open. All the muscles in his body clenched and he stared over at Derek, narrowing his eyes when the alpha blinked back, "Yes?"

Allison cut in as Stiles' cheeks filled with color and his hands began to shake, "All the rangers move in to apartments together, that's why they built the complex behind Shatterdome."

"And it's not only for the pilots, me and Allison have a place back there and so do a lot of the workers on base. They kind of had to supply us with housing," Scott's voice was clear and Stiles felt like a complete idiot as the five people fixed their eyes on him. It wasn't his fault that he was uninformed when it came to 'Jaeger pilot' protocol, he had literally never been in a situation so complicated in his life and as he swallowed dryly and shrugged his shoulder, Scott bumped against him, "I know it's weird. We all know how weird it is."

He felt like a puppy who couldn't get up the stairs properly and Stiles didn't have the courage to look up and see his friends nod and smile at him like he was a child who had done something embarrassingly cute.

"Anyways," Derek's voice was warm and Stiles closed his eyes with his gritted together as the man once again saved him from an awkward situation, "We'll be in training for the next few weeks, I'm sure."

Erica nodded and Boyd tugged on her wrist as he gestured down to the dark green and grey suits they were still wearing, "Can we please go change?" His voice was light and she nodded, poking Derek in the chest and flashing a smile across to Stiles, "See you around, Lionheart."

Her words made a chill run down Stiles' spine and his fingertips went numb. He bit down on his bottom lip to try and suppress the smile that pulled at the edges of his mouth and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. Lionheart. In one day he had met his co-pilot, a damaged, beautiful, fucked up man with more baggage than he knew how to deal with. He had experienced back-lash in the worst kind of way and rushed to be at his friends side as they charged into battle against a Kaiju. The rangers head throbbed and he sighed as he watched Erica and Boyd disappear into the elevator, "I think it's time I go throw myself into my bed and not come out until tomorrow."

Scott laughed and Allison nodded to Stiles, "I think you deserve some sleep."

Stiles pressed his eyes into Derek as his co-pilot shrugged his shoulder towards the stairs, "I'll see you in the morning." His words were gentle and Stiles still wasn't used to how soft-spoken the rough pilot seemed to be. Tired eyes blinked and he shook his head, stumbling over a 'yeah' as he quickly paced away and tried to catch his breath when he realized how fast his heart had been beating. "Fuck," he hissed under his breath and turned the corner to walk up the stairs. He was exhausted and it felt like half of him was swimming in his mind while the other half desperately tried to dissect anything that had to do with Derek Hale. Nimble fingers pushed the door to his room open and he kicked it closed before his back fell heavily against the wrinkled comforter, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"What the fuck is even happening..." he mumbled to himself as he set his glasses on the night stand next to his bed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too much to process, Derek, drift, Erica and Boyd, the Kaiju, the future. Every piece of it seemed to be too much for Stiles to comprehend so when he shut his eyes he tried to put himself back at Brown, next to Danny on the stained carpet of their dorm with an Xbox controller in his hand.

It seemed to work to begin with and he drifted off to sleep as he remembered Danny's lung fulls of laughter.

The only thing that kept distracting him was the flash of wild green eyes and the curve of Derek's bottom lip.

_Dad, please- c'mon, just... You need to stop, you need to sleep this off, it's-_

_You're a fucking disgrace! You hear me, kid! Do you hear me? You're mother was a good woman, a good god damn woman and she's rolling over in her grave knowing you share her last name-_

Derek choked and his eyes flew open in the dark. His room seemed smaller than it had before and he trembled when he lifted his arm above his head and nestled back into the pillow, eyes darting to the side to look at the clock above his dresser.

3:22 a.m

His chest was slick with sweat and he felt his heart pound rapidly as his lungs burnt behind his rib cage. The scent of whiskey still infiltrated his nostrils and it made his stomach flip before he closed his eyes again. The rangers hands were sore from curling into tight fists while he slept and when he sat up and slung his legs over the side of the bed he felt a wave of nerves slide from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.

Shatterdome was quiet at this hour and Derek felt at peace when he stepped through the misty door of the dark garden on the fifth floor. White sweats hung low on his hips and he grumbled when he stepped through a shallow puddle of water in his socks.

"You can't sleep?"

Her voice jostled him and Derek tried once again to catch his breath as he turned and blinked at the dark silhouette seated on a bench underneath the overgrown tree in the middle of the room.

Lydia busied her hands with her hair as she twisted it into a braid and Derek took in a shaky breath when he took a hesitant step forward, "No," his eyes closed angrily as the sharpness in his voice cut the silence. "No," he tried again, softer this time, "I can't."

Hazel eyes lifted to lock onto the ranger and the red-head hummed as her hands brushed over the creases of the cream night gown she wore. He analyzed everything about the woman, from her petite bare feet to the small swell of her hips, up to the shadow cast under her prominent collar bones all the way to the purple stains under her eyes. Lydia's cheeks weren't rosy with Christian Dior blush and her lips weren't painted with Chanel lipstick. She hadn't concealed the bags under her eyes and it made his knees shake when he saw the sadness etched into the ring she twisted back and forth on her left hand.

"Neither can I," her voice was quiet and she lifted her brows through a sarcastic laugh, "But I got used to it after the first couple months."

Derek stood in front of her and fixed his eyes on the crinkled rose she absently played with it on her lap. She looked like a doll who had been broken and put back together again. Something reassembled. He recognized her in a way that made him want to turn and run out the door, take something that would force him to sleep and forget that he had ever woken up from the nightmare to begin with. But Derek was stronger than that and he swallowed painfully, "I'm sorry, Lydia."

He didn't expect the lump in his throat to drench the words in desperation but it did and he set his teeth together hard to keep himself from falling to his knees in front of her.

She looked up briefly and he could hear her breath shake, "When they handed me the flag," she didn't try to calm the tremble in her voice and Derek closed his eyes and swayed slightly on his heels, "When they handed me his flag, I looked for you. I looked for you and I tried not to drop it and I-"

Lydia sucked in a breath and Derek clenched his jaw when she started to cry.

"You were like his brother, you were like my brother and you weren't there, Derek, you left me there alone. You were the best man at our wedding, you-"

It was when she tried to catch her breath on a shaken sob that Derek stepped forward. He fell so hard that his knees thumped against the concrete and he stumbled frantically over his words as the alpha let 'I'm sorry' fall from his lips again and again.

Her open palm struck his cheek for the second time and chapped pink lips trembled as they parted in the darkness. She watched him for a moment and he stared back at her before Lydia's hard expression crumbled and she fell into his chest with her fingernails gripped into his sides and her face pressed into his shoulder. Derek held her as tears fell across his skin and he bit down on his lip when she heaved pleading breaths into his collar.

"Why did you leave?" Lydia gasped in breath after breath and Derek squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped strong arms aroung her, holding her close in the misty green house.

"Jackson, why did you leave?" the words were hushed through her tears as Derek rocked her against him and he felt her nails uncurl from his sides and wrap around to clench into his back. His throat burned and his eyes stung. Every bone in his body felt splintered and as he sat there in the cold with Lydia clinging to his chest, Derek wanted nothing more than to trade places with the man they had lost almost a year ago.

"I miss him, Lydia," Derek's voice was broken and he buried his nose in the top of her head and rubbed his tears into the her hair, "I miss him too."


	7. Chapter 7

**Long chapter guys :] enjoy**

* * *

Stiles woke up the morning after Striker Eureka and Titan Omega killed Tsume and he didn't move from his bed for what seemed like an eternity. The gears between his ears turned and clanked together, making things all the more difficult for him to swallow as he carefully sifted through the pieces of his life that had been laid out in front of him.

Jaeger: A German word that translated to hunter.

A hunter; one who searches or seeks something, one who dances in the art or practice of perusing any living organism.

The ranger swallowed dryly and hummed, tired eyes falling closed in the early morning air. He listened to the steady inhale of his own breath and turned to stare at the picture frame on the night stand next to the bed. A Jaeger was more than just a robot, it was a mechanism designed to hunt something far beyond what the human species had ever expected to manifest in their world. But as Raleigh said years ago, the Kaiju and their handlers didn't expect them to rise to the occasion.

They didn't expect knights to be inside their suits of armor.

"Jaeger pilot..." the words slipped across his lips and his tongue darted out to chase them, feeling along the chapped flesh as he rolled over and reached to grab his phone. He narrowed his eyes and strained to see the four missed text messages on the screen, two from Danny, one from Allison, one from Derek.

His mouth pulled into an awkward half-smile as he read across Danny's enthusiastic novel-like text message. He was graduating in a month and a half and when Stiles took in the words 'I wish you could be there' he felt his chest ache and flutter. He typed back a response, mumbling the words to himself as he flopped on to his back again and held the phone above his nose. If there was anything he could do, it would be to get on a plane and be there for Danny, but he knew that his friend understood his inability to do so.

Allison Argent August 31, 2031, 5:30 AM

Hey, I know it's early but Derek said he wanted to train with you this morning so I'm gonna do my workout early :) don't let him be too hard on you!

Stiles groaned and set his phone down on his chest so he could fix his eyes back on the rusted ceiling. That was the other major thought worming its way through his mind in the sleepy hours of the warm summer morning. The man who would stand next to him during battle. The veteran ranger who would know every crevice of Stiles' mind from the inside out. He tongued lazily at the inside of his cheek as he thought back to when Derek brushed his feet against Stiles' legs and heat radiated into the soft cheek bones on the boys face.

"Okay... I can just," he closed his eyes and tried to focus on the memories from yesterday. Idly toying on the edges of each one, the pain of losing Jackson crawled into his stomach and Stiles shifted uncomfortably but continued to breathe, gripping gently at each fleeting memory. Derek was interesting. He was right-handed, he had played Soccer when he was in high school and he had joined the Jaeger program when he was... eighteen. His mother used to sing him to sleep. There was something about fire... A fire in the woods.

It was strange to know such intimate details about someone he had met only a day prior, but that was the beauty of drift. It allowed two people to become one in a matter of minutes, the only drawback was how haunted it left the pilots in the days, weeks, even years after.

He huffed a sigh and drummed his fingers on the back of his phone, cringing when he thought back to the embarrassing reaction he seemed to have when it came to moving in to an apartment with his co-pilot. In the long-run it made sense. Perfect sense. They needed their own space but they also needed to be in the same place as one another in case of an emergency, whether it was personal or professional.

Stiles would have to be in constant and direct contact with Derek Hale.

He slapped his hand across the front of his face and whined to himself, writhing around in the sheets on his bed. "There is no way, no way in hell-"

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

Stiles gasped when the silky voice broke through the room and he sat up far too quickly. His legs fell over onto the floor and he wrapped the comforter protectively around himself as he tried to catch his breath, eyes narrowed dangerously at the man pulling the door of his room shut.

Derek folded his arms over his chest as his brows rose and he chuckled softly at the sight of Stiles burrowing into the over-sized blanket, "I didn't mean to scare you. Your door was unlocked and you hadn't answered my text so I figured you were still asleep."

Stiles' eyes didn't move from their locked position on Hale's face and as he finally settled his breathing he wiggled his head out of the small opening of the cocoon he had created, "So you decide to just walk in?" The beta barked a laugh and tightened the comforter around his shoulders, "You could have knocked, like a normal person. Or, you know, called, calling works too," Stiles arched a brow and tried to conceal his shirtless body along with the shameful blush that crawled across his cheeks and over his nose.

The alpha tilted his head to the side and stayed quiet, offering nothing but a coy smile to the frustrated pilot on the bed.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Well, I'm up so... Can I get ready or are you going to drag me out of here in my boxers?"

The way Derek looked at him made Stiles squirm uncomfortably and he immediately regretted saying anything pertaining to what he was, or more importantly, wasn't wearing. He blinked away and snorted a laugh, "You're totally just gonna stand there aren't ya, big guy?"

His co-pilot's brow cocked playfully and Derek tilted his head to the side as he still refused to grace Stiles with an answer.

Stiles' stomach twisted and he bit down on his bottom lip before unraveling himself from the blanket and standing to walk towards his dresser. There was something about being physically exposed to Derek that made him want to run and hide in his bathroom, but instead he straightened his back and took in a deep breath as he rummaged through the drawers. The nervous fleeting chills that spiked from his lower abdomen to the space behind his tongue made Stiles grit his teeth together and become all the more conscious of his lanky arms and legs as he shifted to pull a long sleeved shirt over his head.

Emerald eyes found their way from the curve of Stiles' neck to the small dip of his lower back and everywhere in-between. He concentrated on the stretch of his rib cage as he lifted his arms above his head and Stiles didn't notice when Derek sucked in a quiet breath as he bounced himself clumsily into crimson pants. It was uncommon for the alpha to be as intrigued as he was and when Stiles looked over his shoulder with his lips lazily parted, Derek finally succumbed and lowered his eyes to the floor.

"Hey," Stiles' voice was brisk and Derek blinked up before he pursed his lips into a thin line, "So, shouldn't we get breakfast before we go or...?"

Derek nodded gently and Stiles flicked his eyes from the man's toes to where his hair was spiked on end.

Stiles walked into the bathroom and Derek didn't notice the audible exhale of relief to be out of sight, just as Stiles didn't notice the faint sigh between Derek's lips as he slumped against the frame of the front door.

"I literally just ate and now you want to go spar?"

"Yes," Derek's voice was monotone and he stared straight ahead as they walked down the hallway towards the double doors of the gym. A few people passed by and some took a second look at Derek as he stepped around them, mumbling little rumors at secrets that neither of the pilot's were too curious about.

Stiles rolled his eyes and turned the corner quickly as Derek pushed the doors open and walked towards the mat, discarding of his shirt in a swift movement. He tossed it to the side without a second thought and Stiles grumbled to himself as he followed suit, completely unaware of the other pair of eyes lingering over his body.

"Well, my, my," Erica's voice coo'd from behind him and cold hands snaked around Stiles' torso to pull his back against her chest, "Aren't you nice to look at? Why hide all this, hmmm?"

Her nails teased at his sides and Stiles squirmed, a blush creeping over his face, "You... are extremely friendly, Miss Reyes but-" he gripped her wrists and tugged them from their place against his abdomen, "you are truly barking up the wrong tree, and I thought you and-"

Erica's laugh interrupted him and he turned to face her as she shook her head back and forth, "Oh, shut up. I'm kidding. Everyone know's my main man is over there doing shoulder press. And besides, every girl needs a gay best friend."

Stiles' head lolled and he groaned as he stared at the ceiling, "What is it with you heterosexuals and constantly thinking we're like those puppies you women carry around in their purses!" He chuckled through the last few words and Erica pushed his shoulder, "It's your uncanny ability to know what makes us females look sexy, even if you literally want none of this," she gestured down to the toned, curvy body she had worked very hard to obtain and Stiles laughed again before he nodded towards Derek who was stretching on the mat. Erica got the picture and winked at him before she turned to walk back over to Boyd, a curly pony tail bobbing between her shoulders as she went.

"Are you going to be able to focus?" Derek cracked his wrist and paced back and forth on the mat, earning a very confused look from Stiles, "Why wouldn't I be able to focus?"

Green eyes turned to Erica who was bouncing on her heels next to Boyd which made Stiles instantly fall into a fit of laughter. "Oh, you think she's going to distract me? Erica?"

Derek tilted his head to the side and Stiles closed his eyes, a frustrated sigh leaking from between his teeth, "No, Derek, she is not going to distract me. She isn't going to distract me what-so-ever." Amber eyes pierced into the alpha like spears and Derek hummed under his breath as he circled Stiles slowly, feet making soft pads against the mat as he went.

"Why don't you get contacts?" he mumbled under his breath as he plucked the black rimmed glasses off of Stiles nose and walked over to set them on his shirt. Stiles didn't notice he had been holding his breath until his chest started to burn and he exhaled shakily. This wasn't a good idea, none of it. Not the drift, nor the working out, not the letting Derek watch him get dressed or the idea of living with him. Nothing having to do with Stiles being within a substantial proximity to Derek Hale was a good idea.

"I, uh, I don't like the thought of putting-" his words were knocked out of him when Derek's foot hit his chest and sent him stumbling onto the floor.

The beta knew exactly what his co-pilot was going to say if he asked what the hell that was for. It was Derek's way of telling him to always be ready. To always be on his toes and as much as Stiles wanted to scowl and hiss at him, he stood back up instead.

It went round and round. Derek coaching Stiles on how to strike with the right amount of force, Stiles laughing softly at how slow he made Derek seem.

"Watch," Derek's words were quiet as he nodded to Stiles who was trying to catch his breath. The alpha took a step forward and snatched Stiles by the wrist, twisting him roughly until his back was flesh against Derek's chest with his wrists pinned helplessly below his collarbones. Stiles squirmed and growled, "Watching," he snapped heatedly when Derek tightened his grip.

"What would you do to get out of this?" Derek's words were pointed and firm as he tilted his head to get some sort of look at Stiles' face.

There was more than one thing Stiles could and would do to get out of Derek's grasp if it weren't for his complete lack of self-confidence and the overwhelming sense of intimidation he felt whenever he was around the man. "I would, uh," his cheeks warmed and a string of curses fell across his lips when he started to laugh, "I mean, really? Are you really asking me this?"

The moment he felt Derek's fingers loosen around his wrists, Stiles slammed his elbows into the strong abdomen behind him. It sent the breath flying out of Derek and Stiles turned quickly when the rangers knees hit the mat.

"That's what I would do."

Derek looked up from under his lashes as he gripped into the flesh of his abdomen and gulped down breaths of air, "You'd distract me and then cheap shot me? Real fucking funny, Stiles."

The beta's brows rose and he walked over to grab his shirt, looking over his shoulder as Derek continued to shoot daggers at him from his place on the floor, "Well, for one, I didn't know I could distract you. Two, a Kaiju doesn't know what a cheap shot is."

The words made Derek tilt his head to the side and nod a couple times as a small whine was pushed from his lungs when he tried to stand. It took a moment for Stiles to register that he might have actually damaged his partner, "Are you..." Stiles walked forward and placed his hand on Derek's arm but the prideful pilot shrugged it away.

"You just knocked the wind out of me," he mumbled, green eyes flashing over to meet with Stiles' worried stare, "And you're right, a Kaiju doesn't know. Bring thinking like that into the drift and we'll be unstoppable."

As rushed as his words were they still made something inside Stiles keen and purr. Unstoppable. When it came to a Kaiju Stiles had never thought that anything was unstoppable, but Derek's words made him believe they could be true.

"I'm sorry- I didn't mean to," Stiles stammered when Derek finally stood up straight and cleared his throat but his co-pilot jutted his head back and glanced around, a smirk playing across his mouth, "Don't apologize, kid. I haven't met a lot of people who could surprise me, you should be proud of yourself."

As smug as Stiles wanted to be, he simply nodded and slid his shirt back on before he played absently with the rim of his glasses, "Hey, you know, I'm not a kid," Stiles' voice was broken and his fingers curled into fists when he heard the lack of confidence in his own voice. "I mean, you're what? twenty-eight? I'm twenty-four in December, you aren't that much older than me," the beta looked to Derek who nodded and stepped off the mat, skating around his comment by asking whether he wanted a break or not before they met Mako for simulation.

Stiles wanted to press the subject further but his mouth wiggled slightly, "Mako? Raleigh isn't running simulation with us today?" It was strange to think that he wouldn't be there for their second time to drift together but Derek shook his head, "He has something important he had to do, apparently Newt and Lydia made a break through of some sort. Mako offered to stay behind and look after you."

"Us-" Stiles bit, "She stayed back to look after us."

Derek's eyes lolled to the ceiling and he sighed as he brushed passed Stiles to walk towards the exit of the gym, "Sure."

"Oh, hello my strong Wolf," Mako's words were quiet when she looked to Derek and she held a hand out to Stiles, grasping his knuckles gently, "And you, I don't quite know what you are yet. I'm sure you'll show me." She smiled and Stiles couldn't help but feel more at ease around the woman since she had accepted that he and Derek were going to be a team.

He didn't understand why she named the people around her after things occurring in nature, but something about it made him feel warm. It made him feel like he was a part of something more intimate than he had ever thought he would be. Stiles had never imagined the Jaeger program to be so tight knit and he had never imagined himself to be so willing to ground himself in that intimacy.

"You ready?" she didn't wait for their answer and punched the numbers on the flat panel before ushering them through the door. Stiles was nervous. His heart was pitter-pattering in his chest and his hands trembled as Mako clamped the metal bindings down over his wrists. "Don't chase," she hushed at him, "Just enjoy Derek's mind like it's a playground."

Stiles didn't know if his face could physically get anymore red than it did after she said that and he swallowed a sudden itch that had made itself prominent in his throat. The last drift wasn't easy, it might have been the hardest and most intense thing Stiles had ever gone through. He couldn't say he was looking forward to being back inside Derek's head, but when he looked over to the dark haired veteran to his right, he was reminded that he wasn't the only one with reservations.

Derek looked visibly shaken and as much as that threw Stiles for a loop, it also brought him back down from the verge of panic he had been dancing on.

"Alright," Mako's voice came across the loud speaker and the lights dimmed, "Neural bridge reaching for response in 3... 2... 1."

The robotic voice manifested in Stiles' ear again. It was gritty and it reminded Stiles of what biting into a lemon would sound like if it had a voice.

**Left Hemisphere initiated**

He heard Derek in the background again, telling him to relax, and the pain was just the same as it had been before. A burn. A pressure. And then nothing at all. Stiles reminded himself to breathe evenly this time and to his relief and surprise his mind accepted the memories more fluidly, recognizing some and taking its time to dissect the rest.

**Right Hemisphere initiated**

That voice again, it sounded in his ear and tugged at him slightly when he started to dive into Derek's mind. Jackson's wedding. He was a handsome man, with eyes like Stiles had never seen before and a face that could cause car accidents. He had his arms around Lydia, swayed her back and forth like she was made of glass. Stiles felt a hand on his but when he looked down nothing was there, just the absent sound of Allison's voice as the flood of memories continued to crash into his mind like a typhoon.

It was a different sensation to have some form of control and as Stiles swam towards Derek he caught glimpses and pieces of his co-pilot that he had never thought he would ever be able to reach. The birthday cake his mom made him when he was eight. How delighted Derek had been to learn how to ride a bike with his little sister. How much he loved the smell of Oregon, of wet leaves and mossy bark.

It was beautiful. He was beautiful.

And then, just like that, Stiles' lungs filled with smoke.

"Stiles, stop-"

Derek's voice. It sounded distant again, far away, and Stiles hated that he couldn't get to him. The ash choked him and the smoke stung his eyes as he stumbled through the memory. Broken picture frames left glass littering the floor of the hallway in a house Stiles had never seen before, and he listened as a woman screamed three names again and again.

"Laura, Derek!" She was frantic and Stiles was shaking until something small pressed itself into his leg.

"Der der, where's mama?" She was tiny with dark hair and wide eyes that she pawed at with the back of her hand, coughing and choking out tiny whimpers. Stiles opened his mouth to say something but no words came out and her scream sent chills down the back of his legs when a door down the hall burst open and flames came rushing out.

"Cora! Derek, Laura, where are you?"

A hand landed on his shoulder and the hold was tight enough to bruise. The girl was scooped up and a dark haired woman tugged fiercely at his arm, "Derek, c'mon! Laura's outside, we need to go! We need to go now-"

Stiles tried to suck in air, tried to stumble along and fight his way out of the memory. His head twisted when he heard Derek's voice and let out a shaky sigh when the memory faded and there was nothing but white light behind his eyes. It wasn't a harsh stab like before, he didn't snap out of something or launch himself away from the emotion that the memory held. It was just a push, like breaking the surface after being held under a wave and taking a long painful gasp of fresh air.

Mako's voice was loud over the speaker, "Neural handshake at ninety-percent. Derek, control yourself!"

The alpha let Stiles infiltrate him, watching the memories of his graduation, of his father, of his first lover fill his vision. It was intriguing, mesmerizing and he could have stayed there for a very long time.

Derek's eyes shifted and they squeezed shut when Stiles' memories continued to dance around him. His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was eight and Derek could feel the confusion seeping into his bones as Claudia's voice gently whispered in his ear. She had rocked him against her chest that night, told him the doctors would do their best to fix her and if they couldn't that she would try her best to fix herself.

Stiles was so small and in such a strange place that as he wondered whether death was a monster or a reality, he didn't catch the tremble in his mothers voice. Derek did though, he heard it and it made him feel completely lost. Observing a memory and living through them were two completely different concepts and Derek was currently walking on the fence between them.

Stiles breathed, even and steady against the glass front of his helmet. He could feel Derek, right on the outskirts of his thoughts like a ghost running its fingers through his hair. His presence was warm and Stiles stretched as far as he could to try and reel him in but when he finally did reach his co-pilot, the sound of his mothers voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

It was so foreign and his runaway heart skipped when tears burnt at the corner of Stiles' eyes. The memory was stronger, more palpable than any of the others and as he clawed his way further, he lost sight of the situation at hand and stammered over pleading, hopeful words.

"Mom? M-mom, mom I'm right here," he was desperate and the familiar pang of desire to live in a world where his mother was alive shot deep into his stomach.

Derek blinked when he heard Stiles' voice and choked on a gasp when he felt the beta push forward. "No, no, Stiles! Don't!"

"Get back here or I'm cutting you both!" Mako's voice sternly vibrated through their helmets but Stiles ignored her threat and when he finally found the memory, his fingertips ripped through the seams and he fell through.

It wasn't his mother who caught him.

It wasn't his old bedroom before his eyes.

It was darkness and strong arms wrapped around his waist.

"Get him up, get him up now!"

He identified the voice after a moment and Mako's dainty hands tugged at his torso. Stiles didn't know what floor he was on, or how he had fallen, but the echo of his mothers voice continued to beckon him back into drift. His eyes were open but he couldn't see and his back slumped against something smooth. The back of his head hit the wall when someone pulled his helmet off and Stiles whimpered as calloused hands latched around the sides of his face.

"Stiles..." Derek's voice was soft but it shook as he gripped the boy's cheeks, "Stiles, c'mon, you have to focus or you could seriously hurt yourself."

"She was right there," Stiles' words were hushed and when he heard the breath catch in Derek's throat he finally started blinking. Derek was holding him up, hands placed on his face like Stiles was going to break if he let him go. The alpha's face was blurry as Stiles blinked again and again but soon enough he was starring at a very wide-eyed Derek Hale who had him pressed securely against the pillar in the middle of the room.

"I'm so sorry. I should have- I didn't mean to bring you there, I should have had more control, I-"

"You're always much nicer after we drift, you know," Stiles interrupted and smiled softly as his eyes flicked from Derek's mouth back to the glassy green of his eyes, "We get along a lot better when you're not brooding."

The beta's voice was still weak and shook with adrenaline but Derek's mouth fell agape and he rolled his eyes, removing his hands in a swift drop that made Stiles buckle slightly but the veterans hands were back to steadying him and gripped his waist, propping him back up, "I'm sorry," Derek mumbled again as Stiles winced and raised his arms to push back against the pillar, "I really am."

As witty and sarcastic as Stiles could be it was hard to contain the emotions trampling over him. He glanced from the floor to Derek and then over his shoulder to Mako who observed the situation calmly, arms dangling by her side, "Stiles," her voice was cautious and she stepped forward to run her fingertips down his arm, "I know how you feel right now," she paused and he watched her carefully, the lump in his throat becoming more and more prominent with each inch she took, "and if you need time, if you need anything all you have to do," her words made him weak, made him focus on what had just happened. If he just kept repeating that he was fine maybe he would be, "All you have to do is ask. We understand if-"

The edge in her voice made him crumble and he succumbed to the over-whelming feeling inside him.

Stiles was done. He was spent, and Derek couldn't catch him when he sank to the ground with his head in his hands.

He didn't hear Mako when she said she was calling Raleigh. He didn't hear Derek tell her not to. All he could hear was his mothers voice and how close he had been to seeing her face. His shoulders rose and fell and he pulled his knees up to his chest, blocked out whoever was around him, whatever was around him and cried. Stiles didn't try to stop the tears, he didn't fight the sobs that came choked out of his mouth and he didn't resist when he felt Derek tug at his calves.

The back of his legs hit the ground but he still hid his face and turned away when the alpha tugged at his arms.

"C'mon," Derek's voice was water-logged and Stiles peeked through his fingers but made no attempt to move them. Derek reached for his wrists and Stiles finally dropped his hands, swatting at his co-pilot, "Don't tell me to come on, you don't fucking understand!"

"If anyone-" Derek was yelling and he stopped himself, eyes falling closed as he inhaled sharply before quietly continuing, "If anyone understands, it's me."

Stiles' face was red and covered in tears, eyes puffy with long lashes sticking together. He tried to keep his lips from trembling but everything was still raw and everything still felt real. He rested his hands on his temple and sucked in a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut again as another sob rocked through his chest, "Derek, she was right there, she-"

He didn't resist when Derek pulled roughly on his shoulders and lifted him to his knees and he didn't push him away when he wrapped his arms around him and forced him into a strange hug. Stiles clawed at his back as he cried and leaned into him when Derek rested his head on the beta's shoulder.

Stiles rambled about how he had almost forgotten what she sounded like and Derek murmured that he looked like her.

It was like that for a while, Stiles clinging to Derek and crying into his shirt and Derek not letting go of him even though his legs were falling asleep. Stiles wanted to shove him away out of principal, to get up and walk away because realistically he had only known the man for forty-eight hours, but it was comforting to feel the steady rise and fall of his chest and to know that his co-pilot truly was the only one that had any idea how he felt right now.

Stiles was pawing at his eyes with the back of his hands and Derek was drawing circles idly on his lower back when he realized what had just ensued and he squirmed, "I, uh, I'm really... That was-"

Derek let him go and stood up, offering a hand to Stiles who tried his best not to make eye-contact, "That was really not necessary. I feel like a complete-"

"Don't," Derek interrupted, blinking at Stiles and tilting his head to catch the pair of amber eyes that continuously tried to dodge him, "be sorry for something that was my fault."

"I'm not sorry for that, I'm sorry for..." Stiles waved his hand between them in elaborate circles, "whatever that was."

His co-pilot continued to blink and Stiles looked up to watch him rub the back of his head, "I know it's weird," he muttered, "but it's hard to watch someone break down when you've felt what they're going through."

Stiles didn't want it to be awkward, but as they continued to not look at each other in the blank white room, he couldn't help but fell the urge to run out the door and hide.

"It'll get easier," Derek peeked at him and nodded when Stiles inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth.

* * *

Derek didn't lie. It did get easier.

After that simulation they stayed close to one another through out the days, training together, eating together, picking up on each other's general habits. It had been hard for Stiles to convince himself to strap back in and tip toe into drift again, but the third time went smoothly, with hardly any hiccups and a successful mission. The days crawled on and soon Stiles found confidence and security when he walked into the simulation room with Derek.

He had learned so much about the alpha, about Jackson, Lydia, Allison, Scott, everyone. He found out that Raleigh had held Derek just as Derek had held Stiles after Jackson died. He had stumbled into memories of his first time drinking, his loud-mouthed younger sister Cora, and his obsession with music. Stiles relished in the fact that Derek appreciated art and read books like they were love-notes. There was so much about him that he wanted to know, beyond the complexities of memories that could hinder them in drift, he just wanted to know him.

Derek let Stiles poke at him and sneered when the young ranger made sarcastic jokes about his emotional eating habits or his infatuation with leather jackets. He jabbed back with huffed growls over the beta's inability to relax and called him a rabbit whenever they sat down to eat.

It was unnerving to be as close to Derek as Stiles was and he had to constantly remind himself that they had only met close to a month ago.

The first time Lydia sat down at their table during dinner, everyone went wide-eyed and quiet. She flipped her hair and glanced at Erica as the blonde bit loudly into an apple. Allison held Scott's hand and Isaac simply watched Lydia like she was a stick of dynamite set next to an open flame. Derek scooted closer to Stiles until their legs were touching under the table and Stiles stared at Lydia while his co-pilot kept his eyes pointed at the table.

"Congratulations," her voice was strong and she blinked at Stiles and then at Derek who still refused to look up. Stiles' eyes narrowed and as much as he wanted to spit venom at her for her lack of sympathy towards his partner, he knew that it was only because he had felt the alpha's emotions first-hand. The woman looking at him had feelings of her own and Stiles knew that the last year had been nothing but hell and heart break for her. "I heard they're going to send Lionheart out for the next breach," she tried to smile but it was broken and something about it made Stiles' chest twist, "I just wanted to tell you both that I'll be there for you."

Derek's eyes lifted slightly and he bumped his foot against Stiles' shin.

Boyd cleared his throat and snaked an arm around Erica, stealing a bite of her apple. It took a moment to respond but Derek nodded slowly and looked up, "Thank you, Lydia," his voice was surprisingly even and Stiles let his gaze wander between them.

It seemed like it was the last piece of ice that needed to melt between the two. The damage would never completely be repaired but at least now the old friends had a starting point and Stiles was more than relieved to see that finally become established. He had felt Derek's guilt, felt the animosity between the two every time they were in a room together and more importantly he had seen first-hand how close they had been before the death of her husband. Stiles wanted nothing more than for Derek to have that relationship with Lydia.

It had been a month since the pair had first drifted and every time the man bumped his feet against Stiles under the table it reminded him of how irrationally tethered they now were to each other. Raleigh hadn't been joking when he warned Stiles about the bond and now that he felt it he understood exactly why Erica and Boyd were hardly apart.

Erica whined and pulled the apple away from Boyd as her eyebrows furrowed, "So, you guys met the Titan Omega twins, right?" Her voice was stifled with a laugh and her eyes were wide and bright as she glanced around the table. Isaac rolled his eyes and mumbled something to Lydia who laughed and swatted his hand playfully in response. Derek's lips spread into a toothy smile and Stiles couldn't help but stare at him for a moment before he turned to look at Erica, "Yes, yes we have. They are- uh... They're-"

"Awesome," Scott interrupted with a mouth full of food, "They literally give zero shits about anything."

Derek laughed and covered his face with his hands, "They're a hand full, that's for damn sure."

"They're like a wrecking ball," Stiles piped through a small chuckle.

When Stiles did meet them he was completely taken by surprise. They were young, maybe twenty-one, and they were identical twins. He remembered leaning over to Derek and asking how Raleigh found them. It was one of the rare times that Derek had genuinely laughed and Stiles hated him for how disgustingly beautiful it sounded.

They were German MMA fighters before they were recruited into the Jaeger program and when Stiles watched them stumble into the hangar, he knew immediately that they were a hurricane of trouble. Raleigh had introduced them to Stiles and the young beta team saluted Derek when they saw him. He playfully saluted them back and stifled a laugh when they started yelling at each other in German.

Raleigh had bumped his shoulder against Stiles and told him that they refused to speak English and not to be alarmed if they thundered at one another in their native language.

"Ethan and Aidan," Boyd raised a brow and pulled Erica closer to him, "I've gotta say, I'm glad we're not that rowdy." Erica flashed a grin and shrugged her shoulders, "We are, just not where people can see, usually."

"Usually," Isaac echoed, shaking his head back and forth.

It felt good to relax with his friends, to look around and finally feel like he was a part of something whole. Him and Derek hadn't completely opened up to each other, that was for sure, but they had continued to push forward even through the heinous memories and unpleasant surprises that drift threw at them. They still kept going. Allison had continued to train Stiles daily and the beta felt himself getting stronger each and every time he woke up. Scott worked on the Jaegers everyday and had been trying to find a way to make the weapons system more efficient and cut the load time of the plasma canon and heat wave in half. Due to the lack of critical cases Striker hadn't been out to breach since their run in with Tsume. The Kaiju surfacing seemed to mainly be category three and Titan Omega along with the some of the other teams from distant bases had been able to take care of things.

"Go to the library with me," Derek's voice was low as he looked over to Stiles who blinked back at him from behind the lenses of his glasses.

"We have a library here?" Stiles' eyebrows furrowed and he cocked his head to the side when Derek nodded, "Yeah. I was thinking about starting a new-"

"Oh!" Allison's voice piped and she bit down on her bottom lip through a small smile, "I actually, kind of... wanted to steal you," the words slowly left her mouth and she squinted her eyes like she expected Derek to shut her down completely. The man pursed his lips instead as his eyes shifted around, "For what?"

"Shopping," Allison's voice was sharp and she grinned when Derek's eyes fell shut while a sigh drifted over his lips.

Stiles bit down on his bottom lip to keep from laughing and waved a hand to Allison, "You want to take Derek Hale shopping with you?" Disbelief swam through his words and Derek kicked his leg under the table.

"We used to go shopping all the time together, come on, I need my best friend's expert opinion," she pushed out her bottom lip and Derek rolled his eyes before growling out a 'fine' as he shook his head back and forth. Stiles looked at him with raised brows and he scoffed as he started to say something but Erica promptly interrupted, "You guys should go, I'll take Stiles."

Stiles jerked his head back and tilted it to the side, "Oh, will you?"

"Yeah, I will," she arched a brow and Stiles reached across the table to tap on the top of her hand, "do I get to dance around and suddenly sport a lisp, pretty lady?" His voice was smooth and Derek smirked as he watched Erica bounce up and down in her seat, "No. But you both do need to go get something to wear for your debut which will be coming up here in a couple weeks, don't you think?"

Stiles' eyes narrowed and he sat up straight on the metal bench. Debut. He felt a sudden wave of dread wash over him and turned to Derek who heaved a deep sigh, "What- uh... What debut? Don't we just go out into the ocean and beat the shit out of Kaiju's, I mean-"

"It's not that simple," Derek had his elbows propped on the table with his hands clasped together and he rested his cheek on them as he looked to Stiles, "Jaeger pilots are more than just pilots. There's a lot of public relations involved. There's going to be a lot of conferences, interviews-"

"Oh, social situations. You should do just fine," sarcasm coated each word and Derek's lips pulled back into a mock snarl before Scott interjected, "He's actually, like, a really good speaker."

"Yeah, he's charming," Erica purred, "He's a totally different person on stage. If you look into the crowd you'll see a bunch of love-struck boys and girls chomping at the bit to get a hand on him."

Stiles licked across his bottom lip and chuckled when Derek gritted his teeth and stared at the ceiling. It was obvious he wanted nothing to do with the conversation and was thoroughly done with being the center of attention.

"His milkshake brings all the boys to the yard," Scott took a sip of his water and choked as he dodged Derek's arm when the man lunged forward to try and grab him. Stiles hadn't laughed that hard in a long time and he laughed even harder when Derek stood up, red in the face and grumbled that Allison should meet him in the car.

* * *

"You like him."

"No."

"Yes, you do, Derek."

"No, Allison."

"It's okay that you like him, I like him, everyone likes him."

"He's annoying."

Allison's deep brown eyes rolled in their sockets as the pair walked from store to store in the central district of Hong Kong. The warm September Tuesday made the trip all the more enjoyable and Allison was pleased with the ability to wear a short floral printed sundress while Derek chose to sport a white shirt with crimson pants. The same ratty vans he wore from day to day scuffed across the sidewalk and he huffed when she pulled on his arm, groaning when he saw the pink walls of the high-end lingerie store.

"He's not annoying, Derek. You just don't like that you like him," Allison smiled as she pulled at the light fabric on a few different camisoles and Derek rolled his eyes as he stood next to her in the store.

"You still haven't told me why we're here," he pointed out, poking her stomach playfully when she held a small silk baby-doll against herself. Her lips pursed and she sighed, setting the small number back on the hangar, "It's our anniversary in a couple weeks," her eyes flicked to Derek and he smirked gently.

"You're actually going to wear something sexy?"

Allison swatted him in the chest before picking up another one and holding it against her torso, "Yes, Derek! I'm actually going to wear something sexy, now help me," her words were covered in a whine and the man shook his head before delicately maneuvering around her to glance at the wall. A few items hung on display, two-piece sets along side racy lace leotards and constricting corsets.

She looked horrified that he would have even gone so far as to think that she'd be caught in something like that. "Here," the man reached up and to her delight snatched something from the top right side of the wall that she had been eyeing. A pale blue baby-doll styled piece with soft cream lace accenting the bust and hem. She smiled when she looked at it and pushed his arm, "See! I knew you would be able to find something, this is perfect. If I would have gone with Erica she would have put me in that-" she pointed up to a one piece leather leotard.

Derek couldn't help but laugh.

When they left the store they talked about Scott, about how much Allison wanted to settle down and start a family. Derek simply nodded along as she rambled about how she knew her father needed her and how important Scott's work was when it came to the program, but that more than anything she just wanted to get away from it all. The alpha reminded her that they were only twenty-five and that they had plenty of time.

Allison looked up at him and he blinked back at her, offering the softest smile he could muster. Both of them knew that they might not have plenty of time, but neither of them had the heart to admit it.

As they turned a corner and crossed a street the pair leisurely walked through the sleek black doors of Armani. A woman in a tight black dress walked forward from her place behind an ornate black desk, "Hale, it's been too long," her words were respectful and she bowed. Derek bowed back and nodded, "It has," he agreed promptly. "Looking for a suit I presume?" She asked, an all-too-thin eyebrow arching dangerously high on her forehead. He nodded and Allison brushed her hand across his arm to let him know she was going to look at jewelry while he was walked to the back of the store where shirts, jackets and pants of all styles hung neatly on polished steel bars.

"Rumor has it you're going to get your wings back," she spoke clearly and her voice was deep and sultry. Derek watched her carefully as he lazily looked through an array of different jackets, "My wings?"

"Yes, your wings. Some people believe pilots are guardian angels," she paused and Derek swallowed dryly with his eyes pointed at the ground. He couldn't keep the hurt from flashing across his face, as brief as it was, and he cleared his throat before continuing to flick through one jacket after another.

The woman approached him moments later, holding a suit in her hands with a shirt, tie and slacks, "Come, try this, I think you'll see it suits you quite well."

"You've never steered me wrong, Lyn Xue," he smiled and took the clothes, returning to find Allison sitting on one of the leather seats.

Lyn was next to her and she grinned, pleased with herself as Derek stood in front of the tri-mirrored wall, "So?" her voice was smooth and fluid.

Allison raised her brows and her lips spread into a toothy smile, "Well look at you..."

The sleeves were a tad bit too long and needed to be tailored but the rest of the suit fit well. Black slacks with a black jacket, a cream button down shirt paired with a deep ebony tie. "It'll work," he mumbled quietly, looking to Allison who nodded in approval, "It'll work," she mocked, scoffing and throwing her hands in the air, "Look at yourself, you idiot. Guys are going to be crawling over each other to get to you."

"I don't want anyone crawling anywhere to get to me," his voice was a sigh and it made Allison roll her eyes and choke out a breathy laugh, "Seriously, Derek, you need some kind of love in your-"

"Shut up."

"Oh, come on. Just because he's your-"

Derek turned his back to her and stalked back to the dressing room before she could finish.

"He's single? Lyn Xue inquired, eyes flicking to Allison who nodded back at her. The woman smiled and folded her hands in front of her, straightening her back as she looked towards the doors of the fitting room. Allison cleared her throat, "And gay. Really gay," she blurted, smiling knowingly to the sales woman. "That's rather hard to believe," Lyn purred over her shoulder, a condescending eye roll pointed at the combat specialist who barked out a laugh.

"For you and every other woman on planet earth, lady."

* * *

"Buy this," Erica's voice was firm as she shoved a shirt into Stiles' arms. The ranger stared at the shirt and then looked to his side where Scott stood chewing absently on some kind of candy bar, "Is she always like this?"

"Indefinitely," Scott answered, holding out the half eaten candy bar to Stiles who wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"Erica," Stiles sighed as she paced through the small store on the outskirts of the fashion district. They left only a little while after Allison and Derek had and Scott invited himself when Isaac told him he was taking Lydia out for coffee and Boyd retired to take a nap. The city was still mind-boggling to Stiles and he constantly found himself lost in the sights. His gaze bounced around to every detail, from the trees to the tall buildings and interesting people that walked the streets.

There were billboards hung on every corner and in between buildings, every shop had a multitude of signs and colorful logos placed around its entrance. Stiles literally had to dragged inside the shops due to his curiosity with everything Hong Kong had to offer.

"I seriously do not have the money to buy all this shit," amber eyes glared at Erica who had been trying on shoes. She dangled her stiletto at him, "They're Chanel," she purred, "You respect Chanel when you see Chanel, kiss my feet Stilinski-"

"You couldn't pay me. But seriously, how am I-"

"Have you even looked at your bank account since you joined up?" Erica's annoyed tone made Stiles flush and he grumbled curse after curse under his breath as he fished through his pocket for his phone. Scott eyed him carefully and chewed obnoxiously on the last bit of his candy bar, a crooked smile adorning his face when he saw Stiles' mouth drop open.

The number in his checking account could not be right. He blinked a few times, took off his glasses, rubbed his face and inhaled a sharp breath through his mouth. Every part of him was in disbelief, running through ways in which what he saw could be a hallucination or some kind of practical joke. Stiles' stomach tensed and the excitement that filled his insides spread out to his fingertips and into his toes.

"Thirty... thirty-thousand, how is that, what is-"

"You're a Jaeger pilot. What? You think they pay us minimum wage to pilot a giant mech and go to war with Godzilla? No," Erica smiled as she clicked around in the high Chanel stilettos and slung a purse over her shoulder, eyeing herself smugly in the mirror.

Scott's arm was slung around Stiles and he rocked him back and forth, "Welcome to the high-life." His friends words made Stiles want to either jump for joy or faint on the spot, but he glanced over at him and nodded quickly, "Y-yeah, yeah. I, uh, I have no idea what to do right now. I'm at a loss. What does someone do with Thirty-thou-"

"Buy shit!" Erica and Scott shouted simultaneously, causing Stiles to flinch and laugh to himself, shrugging his shoulders, "Guess you're right."

They walked down the busy streets and weaved from store to store, Erica stopping to try on a dress here or a pair of shoes there, Scott simply followed and poked fun at Stiles every time he asked about some name-brand he had never heard of. "So," Scott started as he picked up a tank top and walked to the register to pay for it, "How are things going with you and Derek?"

Stiles shifted uncomfortably and moved his eyes to some knick-knacks lining the register as he tried to find a way to answer his question. It wasn't as if he and Derek had some monumental break through, Derek was still quiet and reserved while Stiles was more pushy and stubborn. It had taken them a few tries before they finally got past the gritty parts of drift and learned to accept certain pieces of each other. It was accepting their own distant memories that seemed to pose a problem, along with the back-lash for Stiles, and for Derek the nightmares.

When his co-pilot had opened up about his trouble sleeping, Stiles didn't quite know how to deal with it. Derek had slighted him with a comment made in the middle of a conversation about his memories giving him problems and up until that point the beta had thought Derek had everything under his control.

As selfish as it was it sounded, it made Stiles feel better to know that Derek was enduring some of the aftermath too.

"Things are okay," Stiles hesitated, "We just... I don't know, he refuses to talk about certain things and I feel like it would make things so much easier if we just talked about them-"

"Talked about what? What are we talking about?" Erica interrupted, blinking through the dark lenses of a newly purchased pair of Kate Spade sunglasses.

"Stiles and Derek," Scott mumbled, thanking the man behind the counter as he took his bag. The three walked out the door and Erica turned her head to grin at Stiles, "So?"

"Things are okay," he repeated, "Like I was saying he just won't open up. He won't talk to me about anything and I feel like it would make things a lot easier if he did."

Erica nodded as they waited at a street light, "Derek's been through a lot. He never really did open up to anyone, I mean, Jackson was one of the only people I've ever seen him comfortable around and they were partners for what..." her eyes lolled up and she counted on her fingers, "Six years, seven years?"

Stiles swallowed painfully and nodded to her as he chewed nervously on his bottom lip. Derek's relationship with Jackson didn't necessarily make him jealous but it made him feel inadequate when it came to piloting with the alpha. Their relationship made him feel young, naive, inexperienced, like he was more of a bother than a comfort and Stiles fought tooth and nail to keep those emotions hidden in drift, but in the end he knew that Derek had felt them. A few weeks ago he had tried to talk to Stiles about it, pressed gently at him with firm words but Stiles dodged them like he did everything else and turned the conversation towards something like tea, or hiking, or comic books or the latest movies that had came out in theaters.

He knew that Derek saw right through him, and it frustrated Stiles to know end that the man let him get away with it so easily.

"I know..." Stiles mumbled, "I just want him to feel safe enough to talk to me about the things he's gone through. I've seen them, I've felt them, I want him to show me in his own way that these impossible memories are..."

"Just memories," Erica's words were soft and she smiled, touching his arm, "I know."

Stiles tried to smile at her and Scott bumped into his shoulder as they passed by the entrance of a very modern looking clothing store. "Oh, perfect," Erica purred against Stiles' cheek which made him turn his now fevered face away, "You'll look so good in Versace, c'mon."

Scott and Erica pushed him through the doors even though Stiles didn't know one thing about shopping in a high-end establishment like the one they had just come across. There was only one other client in the entire store and Stiles gulped down a nervous breath as a short blonde woman approached him, her sky high heels tapping loudly against the tile floor.

"How may I help?" She smiled brightly and the ranger sighed, relieved that the exotic sales-woman seemed to be friendly.

"I'm, uh... I don't really know-"

"He needs a suit. Black. Something contemporary, for evening. And... He'll probably need it tailored-" Erica tapped on his shoulder and he sank away, lip curling up into something of a snarl.

"Ah, the shoulders, yes I see. You've got a small frame, but those shoulders are to die for I must say," the woman curled her index finger and started walking to the right of the store. Erica was the first to follow and Stiles stumbled after them, a bright, flustered blush cast over his face as he went.

The woman hummed as she gingerly sifted through the lined up jackets and finally snatched one up, showing it to Erica who nodded enthusiastically. Scott watched them, yawning when Stiles tapped his foot impatiently against the floor. "What are they even doing," Scott mumbled, turning his eyes to Stiles who finally pushed forward and grabbed the jacket from the woman.

"No," he hissed. Long fingers dove into between the hangars and Stiles picked at one, another and then lifted a third jacket up, slinging it over his arm. "Shirts?" he ran his fingers through his hair and looked to the woman whose mouth was set in something a shocked 'o' as she pointed to the rack behind them. Stiles' pace was brisk ad he walked over and grabbed a deep red shirt along with a black tie. "I'll need a thirty in these," his voice was sharp as he handed her a pair of sleek black pants, "And I'll need them 'tall' so expect to tailor them about an inch."

Erica couldn't help but start to laugh and shook her head as Stiles rambled off about the clothing she had originally started picking out for him, "I should have known the inner fashionista in you would pop out at the sight of a suit!"

Amber eyes shot daggers at her as he shrugged the jacket on so the woman could make a few marks for adjustments and Erica snorted through another laugh, "Please tell me you watch that fashion show, you know the one where they all compete and like, every single guy on there, snaps, you know," she imitated, snapping her fingers and flicking her wrist.

Stiles couldn't help it, his chest rose and fell as he laughed and Scott joined right in, chuckling under his breath as he sat in one of the large chairs next to the elaborate shelf of shoes in front of them.

The Versace sales-woman was trying to cover her own small smirks and blinked at Stiles when he took off his glasses and pawed at his eyes, "Are you a ranger?" Her words were meek as she held a small pin between her fingertips, sliding it into the fabric right below his shoulder.

"Yes," he answered, still trying to regain his composure from the fit of laughter that had just ensued, "Why do you ask?"

"You just..." she shook her head, going quiet. He turned, making her stumble and stare nervously at the ground. Stiles' eyes widened and he reached out to steady her, "It's okay, I don't bite. Why do you ask?"

She had deep hazel eyes and she looked like she was older, maybe in her early thirties. Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail that fell just passed the nape of her neck, "I just... I appreciate everything you do. Both of you," her eyes turned to Erica who had stopped laughing and was listening intently to the now very interesting woman.

Stiles tilted his head to the side and blinked as he searched for words, any words to say to her. It was the first time anyone had thanked him for the things he had not yet done, the first time anyone had acknowledged the sacrifice he hadn't made yet. It was the first time he felt like his title was something other than writing on a piece of paper.

"What's your name?" He didn't know why he asked her, but she answered daintily, "Daisy," she said, sticking another pin in the arm of his jacket.

"Well, thank you, Daisy."

Erica smiled at Stiles who smiled back at her and after everything was said and done he paid for the suit and Daisy told him that it would be sent to Shatterdome in the next forty-eight hours.

Before they went to leave Erica ran back inside and wrapped her arms around the woman, squeezing tight. When the ranger walked back Stiles looked over his shoulder and saw the citizen standing with her fingers curled gently against her mouth, concealing a smile that Stiles had never seen before.

* * *

They met Allison and Derek at a bar inside the Nikko Hotel. The three stumbled in, Erica holding on to Stiles' hand with Scott's arm slung around her shoulders. Stiles' head was thrown back, smiling wide with his eyes squeezed shut and as Derek turned to look at them he felt something pull at the bottom of his stomach.

"They look so happy," Allison sounded bewildered and she glanced at Derek, stealing the sight of a small smile turning at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah," it was his only response before Scott bounded towards Allison. She was sitting in a small booth and he crowded forward, mumbling stupidly about how much he missed her and how happy he was to see her. She rolled her eyes and pecked him once on the lips before smushing his face away with the palm of her hand.

Erica squeezed in next to the two specialists and Stiles glanced at Derek who scooted over to give him room to sit down.

Neither of them would show it, or dare say it, but the relief washing over each of them was breath taking. Stiles didn't want to admit that being away from him for that long had taken a toll, but it had, and as used to it as Derek was, the bond was still fresh and he too was uncomfortable for most of the day without his co-pilot at his side.

"Did you have fun?" Derek looked to Stiles, eyes trailing across the boys bony fingers as the ranger rubbed at his chin. "Yeah," Stiles answered, taking his glasses off to clean them with the end of his shirt. Derek sighed and snatched them out of his hand, taking a soft cloth off the table and rubbing circled into the lenses, "You're always doing that," the alpha muttered.

Stiles stared at him, taken back by Derek's sudden display of... he didn't even know what. Of something. His heart fluttered slightly and he stumbled over his words, "I am always doing that, yes." It was thoroughly embarrassing that Stiles couldn't think of anything to say but his attention was stolen as Erica pushed herself out of the booth, holding her phone against her ear.

"Yeah, hi babe, hi. Yes, I'm fine," her voice grew distant and her heeled black boots clicked against the ground as she paced away. Allison glanced over to the two rangers, eyes fixed on Stiles before she trailed them down to see Derek adamantly cleaning the boys glasses.

"Thank god," her voice was a whisper, "get out, Scott, get out, get out!" The woman was hurriedly whispering into her boyfriends ear who, confused as ever, frowned and stepped out of the booth only to be hauled over to the bar by his all too eager girlfriend.

Stiles had hardly noticed any of it since Derek's foot bumped against his and he squinted as Derek placed the glasses gently back on his face, the pad of his finger brushing up the bridge of Stiles' nose when he pushed them back up.

"That was completely unnecessary," Stiles voice was shaky and he inhaled sharply when Derek turned his eyes away and tapped, un-enthused, against the side of the wine glass set in front of him.

"You're completely unnecessary," the alpha snorted, lifting to glass to tip thick red liquid against his mouth.

The beta gritted his teeth, "You're a real asshole, you know that."

"Yeah," Derek looked back over to him and Stiles kicked him under the table, causing the alpha to wince slightly, "But at least I know I'm an asshole. You don't even know what you are, do you Stiles?"

It was one of those phrases that caused panic and something completely unimaginable to shoot up Stiles' spine. Something like a chill but warmer, one of those bone-crushing sensations, like the ones animals get before earthquakes or thunder storms. He blinked repeatedly as words and sentences ran into each other like cars piling up on a highway. He wanted to find anything, to find something, to ask a question or muster up a witty, sly remark. Something that would shut Derek Hale up forever. Something that would make the alpha never open his mouth and let phrases like that make Stiles rear up and over-think every single interaction they endured together.

You don't even know what you are, do you Stiles?

The words echoed again and Stiles bit down on his lip, eyes narrowing dangerously as his fingers curled into fists, "If you have something you want to fucking say-"

"Look who I found!" Erica's voice sounded through the open hotel bar and when Stiles looked up, he heard Derek groan from over his shoulder.

"Who is..." Stiles blinked through his glasses and took in the sight of a tall well-built man walking next to Erica. Dark hair was slicked back and his hands were set in the front pockets of his well-tailored, obviously designer jeans. Stiles arched a brow when he saw the brown Hugo Boss shoes the man spent way too much time picking out and smirked when the stranger rolled up the sleeves of his beige sports jacket and set his hands on the edge of their table.

"This," Derek breathed out, "is our wonderful PR Manager and our fiercely loyal Lawyer."

The unusual amount of sarcasm coating Derek's words made Stiles bristle and he stared up at him with parted lips and an un-amused smile, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Derek rolled his eyes.

The man smiled smugly and sighed into the air, relishing in the tension that was now suffocating the room.

"It's nice to see my nephew all spunky and ready to get back out in the ring," his voice was smooth, like honey across sand paper and Stiles jerked to stare at Derek who was taking a long drink off the wine glass in his hand.

"Nice to see you too, Peter."


	8. Chapter 8

"Okay," Stiles closed the door to his room and turned to face Derek whose expression was far from enthusiastic, "You, sir, have some fucking explaining to do. Your uncle? Peter? Like the same uncle that bullied you in high school-"

"Yes, Stiles. The same uncle. He is the same person. Exactly. The. Same."

Stiles pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and sighed, "Interesting."

Peter Hale was more than interesting. He seemed like something poisonous that was should be kept behind glass in a locked room on display. The man moved like a cat, prowled around with his claws out, constantly begging for a fight and after the pilot had realized just who he was, Stiles had absolutely no desire to be near him.

Derek leaned against the dresser on the far wall as Stiles paced back and forth in the small space, "How- I mean, this doesn't even make sense, how did he become a part of...? Didn't you-"

"He's the one who got me recruited," Derek interrupted, watching as his co-pilot stopped and blinked wide-eyed at him, "Peter had been hired by Stacker when Jaeger pilots started to become more like celebrities than war heroes. Trust me, I wish he would have retired years ago."

Amber eyes rolled and he huffed an exaggerated sigh when his back hit the mattress and Stiles fell onto the bed, "Derek, he was really fucked up to you, can't you request someone else. Literally, anyone else to be our little spokesperson or whatever the hell he is?"

Stiles stretched out across the comforter and reached up to push his knuckles underneath his glasses and paw tiredly at his eyes. Peter had never done anything to personally make Stiles uncomfortable, he had only met the man a few hours ago, but the memories that Derek had shared during drift were enough to make the beta hesitant to trust the man.

Forest eyes trailed along the curve of Stiles' bare hip where his shirt had bunched up against the blanket, flicking down when the ranger rolled his ankle and pushed himself up with his hands, "Derek?" The voice was sharp, pulling the alphas eyes away to where Stiles was staring at him, open mouthed and waiting for an answer.

He swallowed uncomfortably, "No, kid-"

"_What_ was that?"

Derek's jaw clenched, "No, _Stiles_, there is no other option. As much as I hate to say it, he's the best in the business. Besides, high school was a long time ago, things are different."

It was silent between them for a moment as Derek gritted his teeth and pointed his eyes safely at the ceiling while Stiles took in breath after breath, dissecting the situation. It wasn't the fear of what Peter could do and it wasn't the idea that he wouldn't do them justice when presenting them as a team; it was the thought that Peter had put Derek through living hell as a child and as much as Stiles didn't want to be affected by the memories, he was.

"It's late," Derek grumbled, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants, "Get some sleep, according to Peter we're moving into the apartment tomorrow."

The sudden tension in the room was palpable and Stiles chewed on the inside of his cheek as Derek walked towards the door. He was thankful that it had taken this long for an apartment to be made ready for them, but in the end a month still was not enough time for Stiles to get used to the idea of living with Derek. Scenarios stampeded through his mind and he winced when his teeth broke through the skin on the inside of his cheek.

"Meet me in the cafeteria at seven," Derek opened the door and looked to Stiles who peeked up at him over the rim of his glasses. He nodded and tongued at his cheek before shy eyes retreated to the floor.

When the door finally slid closed Stiles let a string of curses break into the open air. There had been things he wanted to say, issues he wanted to address, but like most situations, Stiles had choked and found himself sprawled on his bed, alone and awake with a plethora of thoughts he couldn't seem to suppress. Peter was the least of his concerns and it seemed like the only thing Stiles could focus on was the mortifying truth that he would have to share a living space with his co-pilot. The man who had turned his entire life completely upside down and had equally brought him a balance he didn't think would be achievable in a life-time.

The ranger anxiously ran his fingers through his hair and turned, closing his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing. His nerves were relentless and they pried at him for close to an hour before he fell into a restless slumber.

* * *

The morning came quickly and when Stiles' alarm rang throughout his room he peeled his eyes open and groaned into his pillow. "...Fucking kidding me," his words were muffled and he slid his arm across the expanse of his bed, swatting again and again until the tips of his fingers found the edge of his phone and he pulled it closer. It felt like he had only been asleep for a few minutes but when he looked at the clock it flashed 6:34 a.m.

Stiles wanted to tell himself that he hadn't dreamt, but the blush creeping across the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheeks diffused his unspoken lie. His body ached and he put his hand on the nightstand to steady himself as he stood and walked to the bathroom. The dreams were different every night and sometimes Derek's past would leak into the confines behind his eyes. It was never the memories that bothered him though. Not the ones involving Jackson, nor the ones from Derek's childhood when his older sister would pinch the hair behind his ear or smoke would invade his lungs. No, it was Stiles' own thoughts that made him exceedingly angry.

He threw himself into the shower and lazily brushed his teeth before he finally slipped his clothes on and headed down to the cafeteria. His pace was deliberately slow and he found himself constantly wanting to turn back and hide behind the locked door of his room until someone came to find him.

"Not a coward," Stiles breathed, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, "Not a big deal. Gonna go do this and it's gonna be fine and _I'm_ gonna be fine." He had talked himself through the entire trek downstairs and when he walked into the dining hall Stiles was greeted with the sight of Derek leaning against the far wall next to the entrance to the hangar accompanied by Peter and Raleigh. He swallowed down a shaky breath and tried with all his might to push the anxiety growing at the base of his throat into his stomach.

"Morning," Raleigh's rough voice was warm as he handed Stiles a cup full of fragrant dark coffee, "Your things are being collected right now, they'll be in the apartment by the time we get over there."

Stiles nodded and took a sip off his coffee, glancing at Peter who was typing some kind of long message on his phone. He heard Derek's shoes squeak against the floor and looked towards the alpha who was also drinking leisurely from a cup of coffee. It was early and it didn't seem like any of them wanted to be awake, but when Raleigh's phone rang he picked it up and nodded to the three men, waving a hand as he walked towards the hangar.

Stiles stayed next to Derek as they paced through the crowds of engineers towards the exit.

There were three separate apartment buildings behind the east hangar at Shatterdome. They were simple and towered over the rest of the base. Each one had its one helicopter pad on the roof along with a pool, private gym, and other generous amenities that Stiles had never imagined he would have access to. Peter sighed and gestured with his hand towards the third building, "Home sweet home. You guys have an apartment on the first floor per Derek's request. Go un-pack, get settled and I'll be back to brief you on the debut in about an hour."

Stiles bristled and he clenched his fists to keep them from trembling.

Raleigh swatted him playfully on the back, knocking a breath of air out of him, "Furniture isn't anything fancy so don't get excited." His mentor smirked and dangled a set of keys over Stiles' hand. He uncurled his fingers and the cold metal sent a chill running up his spine when they were set gently in his palm.

Peter and Raleigh were talking as they took their leave and Stiles' eyes quickly focused on Derek who had already started walking towards the two glass doors of the building. "H-hey, hey!" Stiles paced to catch up and stumbled over his words as he craned his neck to look at Derek, "You- did you seriously request the first floor because-"

"Yes," it was short and Derek didn't bother looking down at Stiles when he growled and bit down on his lip, "You didn't have to do that!"

Derek continued to walk forward and Stiles was momentarily distracted by the cream tile floor and the mirrored ceiling of the entry way. There was a small couch with two chairs in the lobby facing a small modern fountain attached to the far wall. There were three elevators on each side of the room and two hallways, one heading to the left and the other to the right. Derek walked to the left and Stiles clumsily followed, "Would you just-" Stiles voice was low and he huffed a sigh before finally catching up to his co-pilot, snatching his arm, "Stop!"

Green eyes shot up to Stiles as he pursed his lips, biting down on his words as they left his mouth, "I know you're claustrophobic and I didn't think you'd want to explain that to everyone so I-"

"Thank you," Stiles' voice was soft, softer than he had wanted it to be and the sincerity took Derek by surprise, "I just wanted to say thank you."

Derek watched him for a moment, studied the way Stiles' honey eyes shifted back and forth behind his glasses before he nodded, "Don't worry about it."

Long fingers un-curled from around Derek's forearm and they continued down the hallway until the alpha stopped abruptly in front of a large white door with the numbers 113 placed subtly above the doorbell. Intricate designs were carved into the frame and as Derek dug into his pocket for the key with his free hand, Stiles batted him away, "I have mine," he mumbled under his breath as he slid the key in and pushed the door open. The alpha stepped aside and let Stiles walk into the apartment first, smirking as wide amber eyes bounced around.

Stiles' bottom lip fell slack as his gaze drifted across the expanse of the open room. The floor was covered in sleek black tile and contrasted beautifully against the white walls. The living room was large, larger than he had expected, with a black leather couch, a matching recliner and a dark oak coffee table set dead center in front of a stone fireplace. A large fluffy white rug covered most of the floor where the furniture was and to the left was the open kitchen, sleek and modern with a large fridge and ebony counter tops. "Holy shit..." there weren't many other things that Stiles could have said in that moment that would have adequately described the feelings rushing through him. It was excitement bundled around shock and locked together somewhere between disbelief and fear.

He swallowed and continued to glance around, from the flat screen TV on the wall above the fireplace to the wood shutters that hung in front of the windows. It was hard to believe that anything around him was real, that this life he had plunged into was real, that the people he had come to care about were real.

That the man brushing passed him to walk down the hall was real.

"My rooms down here," Derek called over his shoulder, "Yours is down there."

Stiles looked over his shoulder down the hallway to the right and took in a shaky breath before picking up his feet to make his way to his room. Double doors opened up to the second master bedroom and the ranger felt his lungs tighten and constrict.

The tile ended at the frame of the door and was replaced by plush cream carpet. A large dresser was pushed against the wall and an all-too large bed sat in the middle of the room with two nightstands on either side. The furniture was all pale, ash-wood and the comforter draped across his bed was stained blood red. It was beautiful. Elaborate. Exquisite. And Stiles had no idea how to comprehend that this was his new safe place.

His hands wrapped around the picture frame set delicately on one of the nightstands and he blinked down at it through a melancholy smile. There was a walk in closet where his suitcase and duffle bag were neatly placed and passed it was a short hallway that led to a lavish bathroom. It had dual sinks and marble countertops, a walk in shower and a separate tub. Everything about it seemed foreign and unreachable.

Stiles dragged his fingertips across the countertops and jumped when he heard a soft knock at the door. Derek cleared his throat and peeked around the corner into the bathroom where Stiles stood, "So...?" his voice graced the silence, smooth and controlled, like it always was and amber eyes lifted to look back at him.

"It's..." Stiles let a shaky laugh fall over his lips and raised his brows, "It's amazing. This place is fucking... I can't even begin to explain-"

"I know," Derek's eyes closed and Stiles froze when a soft smile teased at the edges of his lips, "I felt the same way when I moved in for the first time."

There was something sad about the way that Derek looked at him, like he was torn between two worlds. The world he lived in with Jackson and the world he was living in with Stiles. The thought of it made the younger pilot squirm and shift to bite nervously on his nails.

It was strange, everything was strange and as much as he wanted to say that nothing made sense, it all did and that alone was more confusing than anything else.

"Hurry up," Derek's voice pulled him back and Stiles nodded, catching a glimpse of Derek as he walked back down to the other end of the hall across the living room and closed his own pair of double doors behind him.

* * *

Peter was bad but he wasn't as bad as Stiles had imagined he would be. The man was fashionable, witty and took sarcasm to an unreachable level but in the end he realized that the Hale's had more of an established family bond than he had thought.

"So," the older gentleman cocked a brow and looked to Stiles who was fiddling with a bottle of water, "Boyfriend, girlfriend, single, married, what?"

A blush bloomed across his cheeks and he heard Derek breathe out a sigh as Stiles stammered for some kind of stable response, "Well, uh, what does that- does it really matter-"

"Yes, it matters," Peter tilted his head to the side, deep aqua eyes fixed on the ranger.

"No, no... I'm single, excruciatingly single," Stiles took off his glasses and tried to keep himself busy with cleaning them so he would have an excuse to break eye contact with the man currently lounging in the recliner across from the couch.

There was a pause as Peter leaned his elbow into the armrest and tapped his fingers slowly across the line of his jaw, "And are we on team barbie or ken or do we play with both?"

Stiles obviously bristled as a laugh choked its way from his throat and he set his glasses back on his face, shooting daggers at Peter from his place on the couch next to Derek. His co-pilot's head leaned back and he rolled his eyes, teeth set hard against each other, "Really, Peter?" Derek's voice was heated and it made Stiles glance at him from the corner of his eyes. Peter held his hands up in mock surrender as his lips twisted into a Cheshire grin, "Hey, these are things I need to know. You're going to be in the public eye and I need to know if he's-"

"I'm gay," Stiles hissed, "and I'm single. I have no children out of wed-lock, I've never been married, I went to Brown University, my father is a retired Sheriff, my mother died when I was young and to get it out of the way I am completely free of any sexually transmitted diseases. Are we good or would you like to know what kind of shampoo and conditioner I use?"

Peter's lips pursed together and he hummed softly before pointing at Derek through a playful smile, "He's your co-pilot?" he smirked and gestured between the two, "You two? Raleigh let you two be in a room together?" His words were quiet and small spurts of laughter echoed between them, "I mean, are you guys like fu-"

"I will shoot you," Derek's voice was sharp and his teeth clanked together as he spoke, "and I will not feel bad about it."

"Talia will."

"Mom's not here, Peter."

"Oh, that's right, her and Cora are in Europe or something, right? Have you heard from them because we all need to go out and get a light lunch or-"

"Peter!" The volume in Derek's voice made Stiles' neck jerk to look at him, lips falling open as he watched the anger boil in the confines of his co-pilots body.

His uncle closed his eyes as his shoulders shrugged and he laughed silently to himself, "Alright, alright, Jesus, relax. Now, since Stilinski decided to supply me with more information than I needed, let's discuss the serious shit."

Derek breathed out a deep sigh and shifted to pull one of his legs up to cross over the other. Stiles swallowed uncomfortably and fiddled with his nail beds as Peter sat up straight and pulled out his phone, swiping across the screen a few times before he nodded, "Ah, yes. So, you'll be doing an interview with Dorothy Hamilton, you know her sad excuse for a political debate show?"

Stiles and Derek both nodded.

"She's going to try and ask you about how you feel about the progression of technology when it comes to the Jaeger weaponry and of course when you answer she will direct the question towards the Russians and-"

"Avoid any conversation about pilots dedicated to other countries at all costs," Derek interrupted, waving his index finger in the air, "Yes, Peter we're not stupid."

Peter rolled his eyes, dark lashes blinking again and again, "Are you ever going to grow out of being perpetually angry or is this just your default-"

"Peter," Derek warned through a growl.

Stiles shifted again, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth as the two bickered. As uncomfortable as the situation had been, it was hard not to laugh because all in all Peter was right. Derek did need to lighten up when it came to most things.

"Okay, so Dorothy Hamilton at seven o'clock, that'll be on the fourteenth of September. According to the war clock there should be a breach about forty-eight hours before so that's when you two will go public, the interview will be your first debut and then of course the after-party will be held at..." Peter flicked his finger against the screen of his phone and squinted, "XS Nightclub at... The Wynn."

"Vegas?" Stiles' voice was choked and he sucked in a breath through his nose, "We're... This is happening in Vegas? Are we allowed to- I mean aren't we supposed-"

"There will be plenty of pilots here in case there's a freak breach," Peter raised his brows as Stiles stared down at his lap and sifted through one thought after another. "So, now that that's over. Ground rules," Peter's gaze flicked from Stiles to Derek and back again, "Don't be fucking stupid and get yourselves thrown in jail and that's about it. Anything else I can get you out of. If, however, you make a complete ass out of yourself, expect to roll with the persona of a complete ass because that is how I will sell you. I can polish, prim and beautify you to the nines but I can't fix personality defects," he gestured with his open palm to Derek, "Living proof of that is sitting on the couch next to you."

Stiles tried to stifle the small chuckle that fell from his mouth and licked across his lips when he looked over to see Derek, once again staring blankly at the ceiling. It was obvious that he wanted nothing more than for the conversation to end and for Peter to take his leave so he could retreat back into the room across the hall.

"He's not defective," Stiles mumbled softly.

Derek's eyes opened but he didn't move, he just breathed in and out in steady, long breaths.

Peter tilted his head to the side and blinked at the two before rising to his feet, "Well, anyways, Stiles," he extended a hand which Stiles gripped, "It's been a pleasure. I'm a phone call away if you need anything." The kindness in the man's voice seemed genuine and as much as Stiles wanted to hate Peter, there was something about the man that made him feel safe.

Maybe it was his degree in law, Stiles didn't know.

A strong hand clasped over Derek's shoulder and Peter shook him playfully, "Oh, c'mon," he purred through a small laugh, "I'm still you're uncle. Let's get a beer soon."

Green eyes lifted and he arched a brow, head jerking back slightly but Peter rolled his eyes and gripped harder, "Seriously." His voice was softer than it had been all morning and after a moment Derek nodded, "I'll call you." Peter nodded back and gave a two-fingered wave to Stiles as he walked down the short hallway and out of their apartment.

_Their apartment._

The flood of nerves that had taken a hiatus during the painful interaction with Peter Hale cascaded back over Stiles like a tidal wave. It was quiet and he could hear the soft pull of air between Derek's lips as he breathed. He shouldn't be this bashful around the man who had been in his head, literally, more than a few times now. Derek knew more about him than anyone else ever would.

"I'm sorry," Derek's voice broke the silence and Stiles continued to look down at his fiddling fingers, "Peter's not... he's not that bad. It's just in his nature to be an invasive dick."

Amber eyes blinked up from behind the lenses of his glasses and Stiles nodded, "You don't have to apologize for him. Let's uh..." he glanced over his shoulder to the kitchen and pushed himself off the couch with his hands, "Let's see if there's anything in here to cook before we go train."

Derek respected the ranger's transition of subjects and nodded softly to himself as he heard the fridge open. He laughed silently as a grin spread across his mouth when Stiles gasped sharply, "Oh my god! Derek, holy... organic spinach, celery, carrots, mixed greens, peppers-" he opened the freezer and Derek audibly laughed as Stiles yelped loudly when a container of ice cream came toppling out. "Jesus, I haven't seen this much food in my entire life. I don't even know where to start," the pilot scrambled to pick it up and set it back in the freezer as he shot a smile over to Derek who stood and was rolling the sleeves of his shirt up passed his elbows.

"Move," he mumbled, shoving Stiles playfully away with his hip.

Stiles swayed on the balls of his feet and pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. He watched Derek carefully as he paced around the open space of the kitchen, opening cupboard after cupboard until he found a skillet and a bowl. It was strange to see the man in a domestic setting, to see him comfortable and calm. Things like Derek being able to cook were exactly the kinds of things that Stiles was afraid of.

His heart fluttered momentarily and he tried to swallow down the cluster of nerves crawling up passed his vocal cords.

"You like omelets right?" Derek blinked over at his co-pilot whose lips were slightly parted as he trailed his eyes from the socks on the alphas feet to the now bunched up material above his elbows. He shook his head once before nodding and raising a hand to rest over his mouth, "What? Yes. Yes, I like omelets."

Derek's lips curved up into the ghost of a smile and Stiles stared at the ground before he was once again pushed gently to the side, "I need to get in the fridge. Peppers, onions, cheese?"

"No cheese on mine," Stiles piped, tilting his head to the side as he stood awkwardly at the edge of the countertop next to a key rack hanging on the wall. Derek's eyebrows rose as he wrinkled his nose and shook his head back and forth, "What? You don't like cheese?"

"No, I love cheese. I just only eat it on the weekends."

"You're joking."

"No! I'm not genetically perfect like you, okay?" Stiles waved his hands in the air, "I stick to a diet during the week and I cheat on the weekends, a lot of people do-"

"You're weird."

"I'm not! Oh my god, I'm finally in somewhat good shape, I'd like to keep it that way."

Derek stopped whisking the eggs in the bowl and turned, his hand resting on the counter top, "Somewhat?"

A furious blush darkened Stiles' face and he stumbled over his words, "Y-yeah, yes. Yes. Somewhat. I'm not like-"

"Shut up," Derek barked a laugh and squeezed his eyes shut as he turned back to what he was doing and continued to shake his head and laugh when Stiles tried to object.

He didn't quite know if his co-pilot had just complimented him or insulted him but Stiles adjusted his glasses and huffed a breath as Derek cooked before walking over to the small breakfast bar that distinguished the living room from the kitchen. He hoisted himself into one of the modern black chairs and propped his elbows up on the counter to rest his chin in the palm of his hands.

Stiles didn't want to watch the way Derek's sweats hung off the line of his hips, he didn't want to smile at the way he scratched at the scruff on his face while he poked at the eggs sizzling on the skillet and he most definitely did not want to watch the way his co-pilot ran his fingers up through the back of messy dark locks.

"So you seriously do not want cheese-"

"Derek!"

The alpha laughed and slid the fresh omelet onto a square dish before he placed it in front of Stiles. Amber eyes grazed across his breakfast and he forked a piece into his mouth as Derek ate his straight from the skillet, "It's really good but- hey! Really? Were you raised in a barn, what the hell are you doing?"

Derek's eyes flicked back and forth before he took another bite and shrugged, turning his back to Stiles and ignoring him completely.

"The man who won't eat cheese during the week," Derek picked up the skillet by the handle and glanced over his shoulder, "is asking me what the hell _I'm_ doing."

Stiles growled a curse at him, "You're rude and you have no manners," the pilot hissed, but Derek wasn't listening and he kicked the doors of his room shut, leaving Stiles to eat on his own.

* * *

Their training session went by smoothly and quickly, Stiles ran on the treadmill and stretched while Derek sparred with Allison on the mat in the middle of the room.

He wanted light-weight thoughts, thoughts of Danny, of Brown, of his father and the small house he had in Malibu. He wanted to focus on his friends, on Erica's sassy smile and Scott's witty attitude. Stiles didn't want to be stuck in the round-a-bout that circled the overwhelming reality that soon, very soon, he would be face to face with a Kaiju.

A real Kaiju. Not some hologram in the simulation room. A beast sent from another dimension to try and eradicate their species. Stiles pressed the button on the treadmill and sprinted faster.

His stomach was in knots and he could feel the unsettled panic squirming in-between his ribs, rubbing across his kidneys, curling around his lungs and squeezing. Blunt teeth dug into his bottom lip but released soon after so Stiles could continue to suck in breath after breath. Fear wasn't something he typically had a hard time over-coming and usually it only took a few messy pep-talks with himself or some kind of push and he would be fine. He would walk into whatever it was with an open mind and listen to the echo of the two words that got him to Shatterdome in the first place.

What if.

But this was a Kaiju, and in the end, Stiles knew that nothing would stomp out the fear radiating from within him.

"Hey," Allison's voice interrupted the song by Seven Lions that was beating into the speakers of Stiles' headphones and he slowed his pace before stepping onto the padded ground.

"Hey," he nodded, sucking in air to catch his breath before he placed his well-worn black rimmed glasses back on his nose, "What's up, where did Derek go?" He squinted and shifted to look passed her but there was no sign of his co-pilot in the gym.

The combat specialist shrugged, "Apparently he's going out with Peter for a drink or something."

Stiles blinked as his head tilted to the side, "Oh," he pursed his lips and his eyebrows pulled together, "Okay. Well..." Long fingers moved to rake through his hair and the ranger chewed absently on his lip but Allison poked him in the stomach, "I don't know if you're interested but Lydia and Newt have some information on the Kaiju that they'd be more than happy to share since you'll be out on the field soon."

He shifted uncomfortably at the thought but nodded, "You think it's a good idea?"

Allison nodded, "Raleigh wants you to get to know Kaiju anatomy anyways since you'll be analyzing their vocal patter."

A chill ran down the length of Stiles' spine and he sucked in a long breath through his nose when he finally noticed the burn in his lungs and remembered to breathe. He had completely forgotten, completely dismissed the thought that he was more than just a Jaeger pilot. Stiles had skills that Raleigh and the Marshalls wanted to put to use, comprehending that thought was much more than he could handle.

"I, uh... I forgot, about all of that," Stiles tried to feign a laugh but it came out forced and deliberate. Allison's soft hand rested on the base of his shoulder, "Don't worry," deep brown eyes locked onto his, "You'll be fine and Raleigh doesn't expect you to get it right off the bat. Just focus on getting through your debut."

Stiles breathed out through his mouth and nodded shallowly as she continued, "The things Lydia and Newt study will still be helpful," her smile was soft and she pulled him gently as they walked towards the doors of the gymnasium, "every Kaiju is different but having some knowledge of their past weaknesses can be good to know."

Stiles said nothing, just nodded dumbly and tried to keep his hands from shaking as they walked down the hall.

* * *

"You think he's ready," Peter's voice was like silk and he glanced at Derek over the scratched up wood table top of a booth in a bar just outside of Shatterdome. The older man lifted a green bottle to his lips and arched a brow when Derek didn't respond. "Hey, c'mon," he reached over to push his nephews shoulder, "stop shutting me out."

The pilot tapped his fingers against the glass of dark liquid on the table and shook his head, "I don't know," his voice was soft, "I don't know if either of us are ready."

Peter's eyes softened and he tapped on the table, "Hey, Derek, look at me."

The pilot's eyes lifted as he bit down on the inside of his lip and continued to run his fingertips across the rim of his beverage. It wasn't just Stiles who wasn't ready for this. It had been close to a year since the last time Derek had been inside a Jaeger and that experience had driven him to do things he never thought he would be capable of. He had never once thought that packing his things and running back home, leaving behind the people who had been there for him through so much would even be an option. But after that last fight. After Jackson... Nothing seemed more appealing.

"You're one of the strongest men I know, and one of the best. You've been through a hell of a lot, but," Peter offered something of a smile as he rested his elbows on the table, "You can't keep punishing yourself. What happened on K-2-"

"What happened on K-2 didn't need to happen. Jackson didn't deserve- I should have-"

"Oh, shut the fuck up, Derek," Peter leaned back in his seat and waved to the cocktail waitress, gesturing to his beer and thanking her when she dropped another off at the table, "it was a double event that no one was ready for and they sent you and Gipsy out blind. What happened was no one's fault."

Derek's lips pursed into a thin line as his eyes retreated back to the table before he took a long sip off his drink. He wanted to be angry; he wanted more than anything to have the strength to slam his fist into the side of Peter's face, but it was true. Every word. It wasn't anyone's fault that Jackson died and Derek didn't have any argument for that. The restless feeling in his bones was something else, though. Something that made him believe that it should have been him lying on the beach on that cold September morning, and it should have been Jackson that lived.

The thought felt like burning coals behind his eyes and he swallowed, "I know," his voice was raspy and he looked at Peter who blinked back at him and nodded, "I know you know, that's the most frustrating thing about you. You're smart and you've got character, you just keep yourself all-"he waved his index finger lazily, "locked away."

Derek simply nodded and stared at his phone when it vibrated on the table.

**Stiles Stilinski Septermber 1, 2031, 5:02 P.M**

_You doing okay?_

Jungle eyes flicked back and forth across the screen before Peter cleared his throat and he glanced up.

"Stiles?"

Derek nodded before he picked up his phone and typed out a quick 'yeah' and hit send.

"That kid's got a fire in him," the older Hale watched Derek from under an array of dark lashes, "maybe he'll be able to thaw you out."

The pilot snorted and rolled his eyes even though the words made his insides constrict. The alpha cracked his knuckles and shifted in his seat when he sat the phone down, only glancing up once to find Peter's eyes settled on his phone as well. His uncle tapped against his chin, a sigh falling across thin lips, "Could be fate, you know, Becket dragging you out here to meet this kid, finding you a new co-pilot, getting you back out there. It might be destiny." His words were playful and he arched a brow when Derek sat back in his chair and set his glass back against the soft pout of his bottom lip.

"Fate's a bullshit concept, and destiny? Destiny's a blind man's promise to civilians," the pilot muttered, before he blinked down and trailed his eyes across his phone as it lit up again.

**Stiles Stilinski Septermber 1, 2031, 5:11 P.M**

_If you need an escape plan feel free to use me_

Derek couldn't help but smirk and looked back up to Peter through a small smile that pulled at the edges of his lips, "He's not a kid."

* * *

Stiles let out a puff of frustrated air as him and Allison made their way towards the back of Shatterdome, passed the storage units and to the array of laboratories that occupied the far end of the large base. Dark brown eyes blinked at him questioningly and the beta simply shook his head, "I ask him if he's alright and all I get is 'yeah.' Not that I should really be expecting much, the guy's like talking to an iceberg sometimes."

Allison's eyes rolled and she shook her head, loose brunette curls bouncing around her shoulders, "He's quiet and stubborn, but he'll open up. It just takes time and patience, I mean, when I met him he was shy and a lot younger but after a while I guess I grew on him. You'll see," she winked and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

"I think I've heard him laugh like four times, Allison. Four. Maybe five, but that's a stretch," he chuckled through the last few words and she nodded, a 'yeah, yeah' slipping casually from between her lips, "I know, I know, but like I said, give him time. He has his moments and we've all had a lot of fun together in the past, a lot of things just… fucked that up."

He nodded and shrugged before heaving a deep sigh, "I understand… I've been there, I felt it," he choked on a couple words and the field specialist nudged his shoulder, "I know you have," she whispered gently, "and he knows that. He's just… he's still feeling it every day. I see it every single time I look at him and it makes me… it hurts. It hurts more than I thought it would."

Stiles blinked and tilted his head to the side, apologizing quickly to a woman in a lab coat that he accidentally bumped as they walked down a now stark white hallway, "What do you mean?"

Allison's shaky breath was a warning but she shook her head and played with the edges of her tank top, "He was always the strong one. The grounded one. It's just hard to see him torn up over something that wasn't his fault. It's… it's hard for me to see him still be so affected and to know that I have no idea what he's feeling." She glanced up at Stiles whose lips were parted and he reached up to fidget with his glasses, now quite ashamed of his curiosity.

He wanted to press, to tell her everything inside Derek's head, to give her the insight that was obviously taking a toll on the woman's emotions, but the ranger stayed quiet. It was natural for her to want to share Derek's pain, to take some of the load but Stiles knew those emotions, felt that guilt, lived that remorse and he knew that in the end it was better to keep it locked away in the archives where Derek lingered day to day.

The lab wasn't what Stiles expected. He arched a brow as Allison pushed the door open and ushered him inside to a dimly lit dark room. Large glass enclosures filled with preserved Kaiju flesh and organs were scattered around the expanse, along with smaller test tubes containing Kaiju blue, nail clippings, eyes, scale shavings and a few other things that Stiles couldn't make out. He wrapped his arms around his chest and Allison's eyes flicked up to his when he brushed against her, "You okay?"

"Absolutely not. What the fuck is this shit?"

Soft laughter interrupted them and he heard the swivel of a chair from behind a stack of paperwork, "I felt the same way when Stacker brought me back here for the first time," Lydia craned her neck and offered a wide smile, "There's nothing like Kaiju intestines to go along with your Christian Dior manicure, right?" She picked at her nails through a small chuckle and stood up, heels clicking across the floor as she walked towards them.

"You work back here?" Stiles' brows furrowed and he tilted his head to the side in an attempt to put together how someone like Lydia could possibly work in such a strange environment, "I mean, what do you-"

"Well after I graduated from Berkeley, Stacker found out I had my Masters in Folklore and he helped me get my P.H.D in Mythological Studies while I assisted Newt on the progression of Kaiju studies. That was before he passed away…" her smile faded momentarily and she tapped on the glass of one of the large enclosures.

A tentacle slapped against the side of the tube and Stiles squirmed, covering his mouth, "Yeah, that's not okay…"

Lydia rolled her eyes and tapped gently, cooing softly, "It's harmless, Stiles. But, anyways, I'm still working with Newt and I've put together a few theories but nothing solid. Ancient scribes and manuscripts all talk of beings that come from the sky, not from the sea, but," she held up an index finger and walked over to the desk she had been seated at before. It was covered in designs, folders, papers and… Stiles, squinted, pulling Allison with him as he followed Lydia, "Is that… That's Latin, isn't it?"

The red-head blinked as cherry stained lips pulled into a half-smile, "Yes, it is, and I've been trying to figure out what it means, because it means _something_, but here look, the ancient Samarians carved hieroglyphics into the walls of their caves, I actually just got back from another trip out there," she narrowed her eyes and shuffled through a few papers before snatching one up and nodding, "This is what I found."

Stiles took the paper carefully and pushed his glasses up, "These are the hieroglyphics?"

She nodded and Allison curled a hand over Stiles shoulder, leaning up to peek over at the paper as well. The pictures were clear and Stiles glanced across the carvings before amber eyes moved to the photo-copied Latin scribe pinned to a board above the desk.

"These," Allison reached over and pointed to what looked like stick drawings of human beings, "and then… dinosaurs-"

"That's what we thought, that was until Newt," her voice deepened and she yelled over her shoulder, "_drifted with a god damn Kaiju-!"_

"Shut up Lydia!" A squeaky voice called from a room connected across from Lydia's desk. A head popped out from around the corner and Newton Gesizler's eyes crinkled behind his glasses from the large grin that occupied most of the room on his face, "I made history and there's nothing you can say that will make me regret it."

Lydia's mossy green eyes rolled and she sighed, pointing back to the paper, "Anyways, that is what we thought but-"

"But!" Newton darted to the woman's side and Stiles arched a brow, glancing at Allison who held her open palms flat against her chest, "He's a little eccentric," she whispered against the rangers shoulder through a stifled laugh.

"They weren't dinosaurs, not all of them at least. From what I saw and from the… well, the PTSD-"

"Back-lash," Lydia bit, eyes pointing from Newton to Stiles and back again. The scientist paused slightly and they both turned their focus to the beta who blushed and ran his fingers through the hair on the back of his head, "I'm not offended, just- and then what? What did you see?"

Stiles bit down on the inside of his cheek and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants to conceal the nervous tick that radiated through his fingertips. Post traumatic stress disorder. That wasn't a term most people used on base and to think of back-lash as something so real-world and categorized made him feel like he should be medicated, socialized, normalized. Something about it made the terminology instill the idea that he had already been damaged. Like the war that he had yet to step into had already broken him.

"Well," Newt walked over and leaned against one of the large enclosures and turned a knob on the top of the tank to the left which made the sallow light illuminating the floating organs turn a deep red, "This is part of a Kaiju's second heart, if you look closely you can see that-" he pointed to a deep cavity that was compressing bubbles of ammonia-infused water with soft erratic movements, "it's damaged. And it's not damaged because of how we removed it."

Allison's eyes widened, "It's damaged because it's a replica of-"

"Yes!" Newton was much too excited and he pointed his index finger at her through a shout and a laugh, "They are simple designs, tweaked and modified from the original blueprints to simulate the Kaiju that have already been here years before."

Lydia's heels tapped against the floor and she nodded when Stiles looked over once more to the script on the wall, "But… they evolve each time. They mimic our weaponry."

"Exactly," Newt and Lydia spoke in time and the small man glanced over at her before arching an eyebrow, "The same way they mimicked the hide, bone structure and force of the dinosaurs and the animals of today. The only thing that's different-"

"They all have oceanic qualities," Stiles breath was shaky and he un-pinned the manuscript from Lydia's work board, eyes trailing across the foreign words. He read them again and again, piecing the letters together like a puzzle and inhaled sharply through his nose when he finally realized what he was reading. "This is just a copy, right? What's the original from?" Stiles blinked over to Lydia who shrugged, "Pentecost gave it to me when I first started, he said it was a reminder to have faith."

Stiles cleared his throat.

"The beast from out of the sea is given authority to rule over the earth, the people of earth marvel the beast's abilities and worship him and 'the dragon', saying 'who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?'" Amber eyes lifted to Newt whose smile had faded and Allison's eyes narrowed, "You can read-"

"World language major, Allison. Remember?" Stiles mumbled, pinning it back up to the board.

"That's from the bible," Lydia breathed, looking to Newt through parted lips as he tilted his head to the side and rolled up the sleeves of his long sleeved shirt to expose the intricate tattoos carved into his flesh.

"Revelations," Allison added as she handed the picture of hieroglyphics back to Lydia. It was silent for a moment, an eerie quiet that made Stiles want to barricade himself in his new room and blast music until he forgot all about what was going on in the world. The more real it became, the more he realized that no matter how glamorous the job, being a Jaeger pilot meant defeating Kaiju, and that biblical verse did nothing but remind him of how human they all were.

Newton's eyebrows lifted and he clapped his hands together, "Well, that's weird and really, _really_ fucking creepy, but I don't have time to WWJD this whole situation, right now me and you-" he pointed a finger at Lydia, "Need to show mister…" he waved a hand at Stiles and narrowed his eyes.

"Stiles," the pilot sighed as his gaze rolled towards the ceiling.

"Now we need to show _Stiles_ what these beautiful monsters are made of."

* * *

**To: Derek Hale **

**From: Stiles Stilinski September 1, 2031, 6:14 P.M**

_You did not tell me that you got bit by one of those Kaiju flea things before_

**To: Stiles Stilinski **

**From: Derek Hale **

**September 1, 2031, 6:17 P.M**

_Shut up._

**To: Derek Hale **

**From: Stiles Stilinski **

**September 1, 2031, 6:21 P.M**

_nothing to be ashamed of, just a little alien tick. no biggie._

_this Newt guy is all over the place, has he always been like this?_

**To: Stiles Stilinski **

**From: Derek Hale **

**September 1, 2031, 6:23 P.M**

_Yes. _

**To: Derek Hale **

**From: Stiles Stilinski **

**September 1, 2031, 6:26 P.M**

_you're so good at conversations, Derek_

**To: Stiles Stilinski **

**From: Derek Hale **

**September 1, 2031, 6:31 P.M**

_Shouldn't you be paying attention?_

**To: Derek Hale **

**From: Stiles Stilinski **

**September 1, 2031, 6:34 P.M**

_he's just going over basics, aquatic tendencies, old Kaiju tactics from Otachi, Knifehead, you know_

**To: Stiles Stilinski **

**From: Derek Hale **

**September 1, 2031, 6:46 P.M**

_When will you be home?_

**To: Derek Hale **

**From: Stiles Stilinski **

**September 1, 2031, 6:47 P.M**

_awww, are you cooking again? :]_

**To: Stiles Stilinski **

**From: Derek Hale **

**September 1, 2031, 6:51 P.M**

_No._

**To: Stiles Stilinski **

**From: Derek Hale **

**September 1, 2031, 6:52 P.M**

_I'm ordering Pizza._

Stiles frowned at his phone and wrinkled his nose as him and Allison stood in the large dark laboratory. Newt had drilled into his head over and over that there was no strategy for overcoming a Kaiju because of their ever-evolving body types but Lydia assured him that she would do her best to find out whatever she could by the heat signatures and sonic waves produced by the breach. Sometimes she could get outlines, she called them echoes, of the beast before it surfaced. Almost like an imprint or a silhouette. The PPDC had placed a machine on the bottom of the ocean near the breach that used sonar to beam out signals and capture whatever impression vibrated back.

"So all this talk about Dinosaurs, is Newton trying to prove that there was more than one breach…?" Allison tilted her head to the side and looked to Lydia as she walked back into the room. Bright eyes blinked from under long mascara coated lashes and the red-head shook her head, "Oh, no. That would be my theory."

Allison stumbled over her words and Stiles' brows furrowed but he nodded and reached up to snatch the glasses off his face and clean them with the tail of his shirt, "It only makes sense. When you think about it, if these… _things_, did breach millions of years ago than wouldn't the remains be more marine based if they had crawled through a hold in the Pacific Ocean like they are now?"

The combat specialist sighed softly and watched Stiles as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his back against one of the large enclosures.

"It does make sense but what would have-"

"The comet. A dramatic shift in the climate and environment could have easily forced the window to close and besides, like Newton said we hadn't contaminated our atmosphere to their liking yet. As soon as they noticed that we had fucked everything up enough they pushed through again, this time hidden in the sea."

Allison couldn't argue with Lydia and she nodded along with her words as the woman pulled out a Top Shop lipstick and smeared it across her mouth.

It was hard to imagine, to think that the human race had been on the edge of world domination since they drug their knuckles out of the caves. Stiles swallowed painfully and stared at the ground, pushing his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. It was a jagged pill to swallow, a filthy, hurtful, horrible pill. To know that in the end Stiles could be fighting an unbeatable war. An unresolvable cause.

"Well, apparently Derek's ordering food so I'm gonna head home," the last word dropped in his stomach, _home_, it still hadn't quite settled that it was so permanently attached the Derek. His ribs squirmed and he shifted uncomfortably, leaning off the tank in time for a large textured tentacle to slap noisily against the glass. Stiles jumped, a few curses falling from his lips before he thanked Lydia and called a 'thank you' to Newt who was working in the other room.

"Anytime! If you ever need to talk-Kaiju with anyone, I'm always in here!" The high-pitched voice hollered back and Lydia rolled her eyes, "He's not kidding, he's always in here. He doesn't leave."

Newton yelled something at Lydia who continued to shake her head back and forth while sporting an all-knowing witty smile. Allison hugged her goodbye and walked with Stiles out into the hallway.

The tired ranger pulled his fingers messily through his hair and smiled sheepishly as Allison wrapped her arms around his torso and shook him playfully, "Is Derek ordering pizza?"

Stiles' eyes narrowed and he snorted, "How'd you know?"

"It's a staple food in his diet."

The ranger groaned and swayed Allison back and forth from foot to foot, "Well, looks like I'm gonna have to get used to the smell of calories then," he arched a brow and she nodded through the ghost of a grin before he released the woman and turned to head towards the back exit of the base, "I'll see you later?"

He glanced over his shoulder and the brunette nodded softly before heading back into the lab to find Lydia.

* * *

Thoughts swarmed his mind like a hive of bees with the static of words being replayed again and again between his ears. From the theory that Kaiju could have, at one point, breached on land, to the idea that he would be in a Jaeger in less than two weeks and then the reality that while in the Jaeger, Stiles would have to analyze alien vocal patterns was a lot to take on. The pilot hadn't felt as out of place as he did in that moment, walking across the asphalt towards the three tall buildings settled on the outskirts of the base, since he first stepped off the plane and arrived in Hong Kong. Stiles shook his head before he breathed out a small sigh and pushed open the glass doors, glancing at the lobby as he paced down the hall towards apartment number 113.

Their apartment was quiet when Stiles walked in and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses as he glanced around. Two pizza boxes sat on the counter top of the breakfast bar and a soft melody drifted from down the hall where Derek's doors were cracked open.

He was hesitant as he followed the sound and kicked off his boots before he peeked his head around the door and let his eyes drift around the room. It was moderately the same layout of Stiles', except Derek had a small private patio where he was currently sitting with his feet propped up on the wall and a book in his lap. Small ferns and plants were set around the quaint outdoor expanse and Stiles listened as his co-pilot sang along quietly to an old song by an artist he used to listen to in high school.

Stiles feet padded softly against the carpet and amber eyes moved over the dark comforter on Derek's bed to the black furnished lamps on both night stands. The sliding glass door was open, letting a crisp breeze float through the room, Stiles cleared his throat, "I didn't know you listened to Wild Cub."

Derek jerked, jungle eyes wide and alert as he inhaled a sharp breath and exhaled it as a sigh, eyelashes lowering when he shook his head back and forth. Stiles arched a brow, "Didn't mean to scare you," his voice was low and he leaned against the glass door, smirking when Derek rolled his eyes and folded the corner of a page in the book he had been reading, "You just startled me- and yes, Raleigh got me into them a while ago." The alpha stood and brushed passed Stiles, glancing over his shoulder to watch as the younger pilot bent down to brush his fingers across the leaves on one of the potted shrubs Derek had on his patio.

"I got you pizza," Derek's voice was smooth but he looked at the ground when Stiles lifted his chin and glanced back at him, "it's this low-carb, veggie, healthy thing. I don't know. If you don't like it-"

"It sounds good," Stiles interrupted the rangers rambling before he stood to walk passed him towards the kitchen. Derek's feet made soft sounds behind him and he stood next to Stiles when he opened the box and snatched a piece of the whole-wheat pizza, taking a bite. Derek's eyebrows rose and his lips twisted, "Does it taste like the shit they feed rabbits?"

Stiles swatted him in the chest through a mouthful of a laugh, "No, you ass, it tastes like pizza! What is wrong with you, how do you even stay," he waved a hand over his torso and poked playfully through Derek's shirt at the hard muscles on his abdomen, "like this."

Derek's wide smile made Stiles stop chewing momentarily but before the alpha had the chance to answer; a knock came at the door. The two looked at each other and blinked, Stiles holding his hands up in front of his chest as he chewed on the crust of his pizza and Derek frowning before taking the initiative to walk over and open the door.

Scott didn't wait for an invitation, he bounded through the door, arm swung around Derek's shoulder as he went, "Hey, man! Happy house-warming!"

"No," Derek's lips pursed and he pushed Scott back towards the door but Erica blocked him as she swerved out of the way and slinked towards Stiles. The alpha pinched his lips tightly together when Scott hoisted himself onto the breakfast bar and turned to point his eyes dangerously at Boyd when he walked through the door.

The pilot had a deep laugh and he offered a smile as he gripped Derek's shoulder, "It was Scott's idea."

Derek growled, "I'm sure," he bit as an angry glare was shot over his shoulder at the field specialist. Scott patted a bottle of some kind of alcohol and waved it tauntingly at Hale, distracted only by the entrance of Allison, Lydia and Isaac. The brunette was hesitant to step in and touched Derek's arm gently before walking over to pace herself between Scott's dangling knees.

Wide green eyes looked down to Lydia, watched as she smoothed her hands across the long simple dress draped over her small frame and breathed out a shaky sigh before her eyes darted up to his. "Hi, Derek," she reached out to let soft fingertips wrap around his knuckles and it seemed like the entire room went still. His spine felt like it was about to melt into his legs and he felt nerves wash over the lining of his stomach before he swallowed, "Hey, Lydia."

Her smile was as soft as the pads of her fingertips and the pilot felt himself leaning forward and before he realized what he was doing he felt the top of her head below his chin as she pressed gingerly against him. It had been almost a year since he had hugged Lydia and he forgot how comforting it could be.

Stiles smiled to himself and wrapped an arm around Erica's waist when she leaned in to hug him, eyes focused more on the scene in front of the door than on anything else. It was beautiful to watch the two interact, to see Lydia and Derek move forward, even if it was slow progression, it was steady and it was something.

Isaac was the last one through the door and he shot a half-smile to Derek as Lydia walked into the kitchen and leaned against the bar where Scott and Allison were. Boyd had his arms crossed as he stood behind Erica who was next to Stiles and Derek eyed them all carefully before huffing a sigh, "So you all just decide to show up at our house uninvited?"

"It's tradition! Lighten up, already. We brought booze, you guys are going to debut soon, you two have your own place now, it's almost official!"

Stiles arched a brow as he cleared his throat, "What's almost official?"

Scott scrambled to get off the counter and opened cupboard after cupboard before he found what he was looking for and lined short glass cups on the counter, filling them with a small amount of liquor. Nobody asked what kind of alcohol it was or why he was doing what he was doing, the group just watched and waited until he handed one out to each of his friends and walked back over to wrap his arm securely around Allison's waist.

He raised his glass, a wide smile pulling at the edges of his lips, "To Team Lionheart," his words were strong and Stiles felt something stir behind his ribcage as he bit down on his bottom lip, amber eyes lifting to find Derek starring back at him from across the room, "and to another revolution."

They lifted their cups and Stiles watched Derek's lips pull into a smile before he pressed the edge of the glass to his mouth and let the liquid burn down his throat.

The night went on for hours and Stiles swore he hadn't laughed as hard as he had that night since he was a child. They sat in the living room, Scott and Allison on the recliner, Lydia, Isaac, and Boyd on the couch with Erica seated on the ground between Boyd's knees. Derek had his back propped against the wall and Stiles was lounged across the rug next to the coffee table which harbored two nearly empty bottles.

"What did it even feel like?" Scott was laughing through his words and Derek was trying to contain the smile splitting across his face as he shook his head back and forth, "It felt like someone shot me! Those things are disgusting-"

"And I had to give you intravenous anti-fungal medication for weeks," Isaac groaned, eyes falling closed as he leaned his head back against the couch. Derek's eyes squeezed shut and he rubbed at the scar on his arm as a visible shiver ran through him, "I remember, Isaac, trust me."

"Ew, you had alien fungus," Scott stuck his tongue out and Allison slapped his leg when he started laughing again.

It was strange to be in such a close intimate setting with his friends and Stiles could hardly imagine what it would be like to lose any of them. For a moment there, as they all laughed, the kind of laughing that sent them falling and rolling on the ground, he thought that maybe they were safe. Right now, in their living room, on a warm night in September, him and the people he had come to care about so passionately were on a planet that wasn't being hijacked. They were somewhere else, somewhere that didn't have underground safe zones, or sirens built into every building, somewhere where all of that had been put to rest and they could live and be young.

But in the back of his hazy mind where his thoughts were still sharp and coherent, he knew that in the morning they would still wake up and this would still be Shatterdome and they would still have a war to win.

Amber eyes stayed fixed on Derek, on his co-pilots cheeks that shined a blistering red from the alcohol and on the wide grin that so rarely found a place on his face. He looked happy, buckled from laughing so hard it hurt, clapping his hands together as Scott and Boyd spit memories at him and told stories that Stiles only knew of from Derek's memories. It was beautiful, to sit back and watch him unfurl, to physically see his walls lower and to finally get the chance to see a side of Derek that had been hidden away for a long time.

"Stiles," Lydia's voice was louder than normal and she snorted when she laughed which made Derek audibly chuckle, "Shut up Derek!" she pointed a finger at the alpha before turning her attention back to Stiles, "Do you, like tell me, are you uh- this is weird," she snorted again and Stiles arched a brow when she reached for her near empty glass on the table. "You seem so… passive and delicate," her eyes squinted and she stuck her tongue between her teeth, "are you…? Do you like, uh, guys that are more-"

"Oh my god, Lydia!" Scott yelled from across the room, "Is it queens or kings, bro?"

Stiles' cheeks heated immediately and he hid his face in the long shag of the rug underneath him, groaning when Lydia pushed at the top of his head with her bare foot, "Tell me! I know Derek's into like the feisty, hot, can take an give kinda-" her words came out as a squeak due to Derek crawling over to pull at her ankles, causing her to slide down the couch onto her rear. Ear splitting laughter filled the room and Stiles rolled onto his back clutching at his stomach as he sucked in breath after breath. Even Derek was laughing as he scolded her, wiping tears from his eyes and falling backwards on to the rug next to Stiles as Lydia curled up into Isaac's legs.

The doctor leaned down to stroke his hand through her hair and for a moment Stiles thought that he saw something in Isaac's eyes. It was probably just the alcohol.

It was a good night, a night that made Stiles appreciate his life more than he ever had. It went on for a few more hours, hours of stories and memories that Stiles enjoyed listening to more than anything. He contributed here and there, answered questions about old relationships and his days back at Brown with Danny.

The night winded down slowly and Stiles didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyes and blinked through the darkness. Allison and Scott were still tangled up on the recliner, Boyd and Erica had wrapped themselves on the floor and Isaac held Lydia close to his chest on the couch.

Stiles smiled tiredly and pawed at his eyes with the back of his hand, fumbling on the table to find his glasses before music softly pulled his attention down the hall to Derek's closed doors. He stood, swaying slightly when he caught himself on the back of the couch as he paced down the hall and set his hand on the door, pushing it open to step inside.

"Derek…?" his voice was tinged with rasp and he stepped inside, straining his eyes through the dim light, "What are you- are you listening to The Cure right now, really?"

His co-pilot peeked around the sliding glass door and narrowed his eyes, "Weren't you asleep?"

Stiles arched a brow when he noticed the small laugh hiding behind Derek's words and he shrugged, walking forward to lean against the wall next to his dresser, "I was, then I woke up and noticed you weren't there. I heard the music and…" he paused when Derek stood, exposing a pale bare chest as he walked forward. The same sweats he always wore were hanging dangerously low on his hips and Stiles couldn't help but let his eyes swim across the ranger's body.

If he would have been sober he would have caught himself, he wouldn't have let his breath hitch when Derek walked towards him and he wouldn't have stumbled to brace himself further when his co-pilots hand hit the wall next to his face. Stiles could smell whiskey on his breath, mixed with the peppermint of his mouthwash and he swallowed when he inhaled a sharp breath full of oak and citrus from Derek's all-too expensive cologne.

Derek's eyes were a world that Stiles wouldn't mind getting lost in and he studied the contours of his face, the small knicks underneath the stubble across his jaw that he had given himself from shaving, the hollow of his cheeks and the flare of his nostrils. He was undeniably intricate and Stiles had completely lost himself in the wild beauty that was Derek Hale.

He kept his hands flat against the wall, eyes flicking around Derek's face, "and…?" the alpha pressed, voice soft like honey as his breath ghosted across Stiles' mouth.

His mind grabbed at words, at actions, at anything and when he opened his mouth to speak the statement that fell from between his lips were not what he had planned.

"…you're so pretty," Stiles' voice was a whisper and the words were breathed out softly, as a complete accident. Amber eyes widened and dread washed over Stiles' face; he pursed his lips, desperate to conceal the deep crimson blush that radiated across his cheeks. Embarrassment nestled into his stomach and screeching brakes screamed in his mind. _No_. Stiles had never regretted drinking so much in his life.

Derek's eyebrows arched, lips pulled into a gin and before Stiles had the chance to say 'wait' he was buckled over on the floor laughing. The alpha sucked in air and Stiles shook his head, biting down on his lip to try and keep from laughing at himself as well. _At least we're drunk_. It's all he could say to himself to excuse his complete lack of self-control.

"How could I fuck this up," Stiles breathed into the air as he slouched against the wall, listening to Derek laugh and hoping that this was something the alpha conveniently didn't remember in the morning. His eyes shut and he hissed when a hand grabbed at the back of his leg and pulled roughly.

Stiles fell, finally giving into the laughter that was trapped in his throat and fell on the floor next to Derek who snorted and covered his face, swatting Stiles playfully in the chest, "I'm _pretty_?" his voice was soft and a chuckle concealed most of the last word. The beta wrinkled his nose and tried to keep himself from laughing but as he looked at Derek it was impossible, so he covered his face with the back of his hand and turned his head away, "You're so pretty, Derek," he sarcastically choked out the words through a laugh, "You're the prettiest pilot ever, okay?"

Derek was sobbing out laughter and Stiles was chuckling quietly as he hid underneath his hand, trying to make sense of the situation, to understand exactly what had just happened. His mind was swimming through fog and he finally built up the courage to look over to Derek whose bright green eyes were fixed on him. A chill ran from the top of his head to his feet and Stiles cleared his throat, "I'm sorry."

He didn't know what else to say and Derek's eyes drifted closed as a coy smile played across his mouth, "Don't be."

He wanted to do something. To lean closer. To reach out and pin his co-pilots arms above his head. To put his mouth on the alphas throat. He wanted to do anything but lay there in the middle of the floor and stare.

Stiles' breath hitched once more and he bit down on his lip, heart thundering loud and prominent behind his ribs.

Derek's fingertips brushed across his forearm and Stiles' lips parted.

"Stiles…" the way he said his name made Stiles want to lurch forward, but he kept his distance, only moving to drag his own fingers across the top of Derek's hand.

"Yeah?"

Derek swallowed, eyes tired and heavy, "Thanks."

There wasn't anything else to say, no words, no jokes, nothing. They laid there for a while in the darkness, Stiles studying the color of Derek's eyes and Derek absently playing with the flesh of the beta's wrist. He didn't know what the veteran ranger was thanking him for and it was too late and he was much too intoxicated to worry about it. It was silent in Derek's room besides the sound of wind against the plants outside and the soft lull of music from a small ihome on the nightstand. Stiles closed his eyes, listened to the soft inhale and exhale of Derek's breath next to him on the floor and fell asleep as his co-pilot's fingers gently gripped onto the bony knuckles of Stiles' hand.


	9. Chapter 9

Lydia's eyelashes felt like they had been coated in cement and they weighed down her eyelids, smeared with mascara and flaking black liner. She could still taste the alcohol from the night before and swallowed as she tried to clear her throat, wincing when she realized how hoarse her voice was probably going to be. It took a moment, a long, comfortable moment for the woman to notice that the soft patch of flesh where she was resting her cheek belonged to Isaac. His chest rose and fell in calm, even breaths and Lydia didn't know whether to close her eyes, let it lull her back into dreamless sleep or to try and scramble to her feet without waking him, run to her apartment in the building next door and hope that he didn't remember her ever being there.

A strong, gentle arm rested across her lower back and when the woman tensed she felt it tighten ever-so-slightly. Her knee was draped casually across his lap; dress hiked up around her thighs where it pooled next to her on the couch and as she curled her fingers, she found his wrist resting underneath the palm of her hand. Hazel eyes hesitantly mapped their way passed the dip of his collarbone to Isaac's square jaw and the puff of his bottom lip as he inhaled and exhaled. The red-head bit down on her bottom lip, eyes falling closed as she moved her leg to scoot away from the doctor as inconspicuously as she could.

He purred softly and the sound coaxed a small smile to curve at Lydia's lips. She sat up slowly before she tried to retract her hand. His fingertips wrapped around her own, thumb dusting across the tops of her knuckles, "Don't go," his voice was whispered through the part of a tired grin, blue eyes cracking open to look up at Lydia whose cheeks had turned a frosted pink. The tightness in her chest constricted even further and she rubbed her lips together to try and busy her mouth before she attempted to speak. His gaze was patient, waiting, and she hated to look away from him but the wrench in her gut caused her eyes to flee.

The words she had built dropped when he brushed across the silver band on her finger and she gasped, shakily snatching her hand up and clutching it to her chest.

Isaac's eyes didn't move away from her but he tilted his head to the side, "Lydia," his voice was a quiet comfort but she still shied away, stumbling as she got to her feet and babbled about how she needed to go. "Lydia, it's okay-" Isaac's expression tightened and he reached for her but found nothing but the brush of her dress as she picked up her shoes from under the coffee table and paced away.

* * *

The sound of the door closing is what pulled Derek out of his deep slumber. Green eyes flashed open and he squinted, blinking through the blurred outline of long fingers and an upturned nose. The alpha didn't move once his vision cleared, he simply stared at the man next to him. Stiles' hand was curled up next to his head and his nose twitched when Derek pulled his face out of the crook of his co-pilots shoulder.

Derek had never been given the chance to truly study Stiles, to trace the line where his jaw met the curve of his ear, or to count the tiny moles that were splashed across his cheek. The rangers eyelashes were long and dark and his hair was messily tussled around his face against the plush off-white carpet. He wasn't what Derek had been expecting, he wasn't what Derek had wanted to find when he came back to Shatterdome and Derek wished more than anything that he didn't want to reach out and run his fingers down the length of his co-pilots throat.

But he did.

The alpha stayed still, delved into the sight of Stiles' shirt, rucked up over his stomach and his jeans, pushed down snug over the cut of his hip bones. Derek inhaled through his nose and pulled his leg from where it had been tangled between Stiles' knees so that he could scoot back and sit up on his elbow.

Stiles sighed in his sleep and Derek held his breath when the lanky young man curled himself forward, the warmth of his breath ghosting across Derek's chest.

It wasn't an uncommon feeling, the urge to flee, but as familiar and appealing as it seemed when Stiles' hand rose to brush across Derek's hip, the ranger refused to move. It was one of those moments where making a decision was the absolute worst option, where it seemed like a better idea to sit and enjoy the silence, to be okay with the misunderstood situation and to wonder.

Where the fuck did you come from

It was all Derek could manage to repeat in his mind until Stiles finally stirred and hooked his arm further around the alphas body, "You're like a furnace," his voice was sloppy and slid between his lips in a slur of tired half-conscious words.

The veteran froze, unsure of whether or not Stiles knew what was going on, who he was holding onto and loudly cleared his throat.

Amber eyes opened and Stiles blinked, once, twice, before his breathing ruptured and he moved back to look up at Derek.

"Good morning," Derek was almost purring through a smirk as his eyebrows rose.

Stiles felt his heart pitter pattering against his rib cage, "I- uh... Hi, yeah," he ran his fingers through his hair and winced when the dull ache from last night's indulgences began to surface right above the bridge of his nose.

His nerves felt like splinters settled crooked in his skin and when Stiles glanced up at Derek, he felt them twist. Emerald eyes fell across him and the beta squirmed, removing his arm quickly before he tugged his shirt down, "So... Sorry for falling asleep on you- your floor! I'm uhm, I'm just gonna go-"

Derek's hand stopped him, pressing down on his chest, anchoring him to the carpet. It took the wind out of Stiles and a small huff graced the quiet room when he fell on his back and stared up at the man who hovered above him. His face flushed. His body flushed. Every cell within him vibrated and for a moment he wondered if this was his second chance. If this was redemption for the fiasco that had gone on last night.

"You told me something the other night," Derek spoke and his voice hit Stiles like satin sheets, "you said if I had something to say, I should say it."

Technically Stiles hadn't been able to finish his sentence due to Peter's arrival at the hotel but the fact that Derek remembered made his insides roll and twist. He nodded shallowly, honey optics flicking around Derek's face in a desperate attempt not to focus on his mouth.

A warm hand moved to grip Stiles' hip, thumb brushing over the patch of flesh to the right of his belly button.

Stiles' breath shook and his mouth fell slack as he tried to protest, to find anything to say but nothing surfaced, nothing except the click of his tongue and the sharp inhale of air.

The scratch of Derek's unshaven cheek brushed across his face and Stiles felt his throat constrict.

"Do you know what you are, Stiles?" Derek's mouth was pressed against his ear and Stiles couldn't move, could hardly breathe none-the-less find anywhere to put his hands which were at his sides, fists clenching and unclenching.

Derek's weight pressed down, "You're infuriating and you're compelling and you completely dismantle me," his voice broke and he opened his mouth to continue, blunt nails digging into the skin on Stiles' hip, "you're smart and charismatic and so fucking annoying."

Stiles' eyelids fluttered when Derek pushed his face closer and he arched against his co-pilot, wishing to god he had more self-control.

It was torture. The kind of torture that left him breathless with nerves like knives in the deepest parts of him. His stomach was doing flips, lungs tight and on fire until he reminded himself to take in a breath and keep his hands at his side. Because the moment they touched any part of Derek he would lose control of them. Stiles would lose control. As much as he wanted to fight the idea that losing control wouldn't be so bad, he knew in the end that it would.

Derek turned, eyes fixed down on the man beneath him. His breath was warm and Stiles sucked in air, parted lips trembling, "What if-" the words slipped, like a child on ice skates, like a bar of soap in the shower, just slipped from Stiles before he had the chance to catch them. His chest was a blaze, and his teeth gritted when Derek's calloused fingers pressed down, thumb dipping below the hem of his jeans to dig into the soft cavity under his hip bone.

Stiles hissed, "Jesus Christ, Der-"

It wasn't what he expected. The feeling of Derek's mouth covering his, desperate and needy and completely untamed. Derek Hale did not kiss the way he spoke, soft and smooth. No, Derek kissed like he fought.

It was messy, brutal, heavy. It made Stiles want to bite, to claw, to get a hold of any piece of the ranger that he could, so he let his fingers unfurl and fisted a hand in Derek's hair, lifting his head to chase the alphas mouth when he pulled back. The ranger above him gripped his free arm before he slammed Stiles' wrist above his head, body grinding down against him with obvious intent.

Stiles felt his mind waver, like he had malfunctioned and every thought that he had been chasing that morning was vacuumed out, set aside in an attempt to process the prying lips that left him breathless and the sharp point of Derek's tongue that rubbed slowly against his own.

It was strange, to feel the physical aspects of the person he had drifted with. Stiles had been inside Derek so many times, felt his pain, lived his memories, watched significant pieces of his life and they haunted him on a daily basis. To touch him. To feel him. It was an entirely new experience and it made Stiles wonder, made him want to find the untouched parts of Derek and press his hands against them, search for the shadows that lurked just out of reach and grip onto them like he was gripping onto Derek now.

He didn't realize how fast his heart was beating until he was hoisted up to his knees and Derek was growling into his mouth. The alpha busied his hands with the hem of Stiles' shirt, lifting and tugging until it was discarded, thrown absently somewhere in the room.

Derek hadn't known the sound of his own name until Stiles breathed it, warm and fluid between his lips and god, did he make it sound beautiful.

Long fingers pressed into Derek's chest, pushing him back to fall against the carpet before Stiles slid a hand around the base of his jaw and gripped, lips crushing back against the alphas. It took Derek by surprise, the sudden change and he whined softly when Stiles rolled his hips and bit down bravely into his bottom lip. The young ranger was strong, with deliberate hands and a finesse that Derek didn't possess. His lips were soft and the way he tilted his head was a calculated maneuver to devour more of the pilot underneath him.

Derek didn't know he had been starving until he tasted Stiles, until he was pulling at the rangers shoulders and trying to catch his breath through the gaps between their lips as they pushed and pried at one another. It was fast, like they were at war with the clock, and Derek couldn't help but shamefully whimper when Stiles pulled away.

Amber eyes blinked down, pupils dilated and lips swollen, only to be graced by the side of his co-pilots face as Derek looked away. The alpha forced himself to lean his cheek against the carpet and try to calm his breathing, only failing once when Stiles slid his hand up the length of his side.

"Derek," his voice mangled the silence and Stiles hovered, staring down at the alpha whose eyes were pointed at the wall. Bony fingers pulled roughly at Derek's chin, and the veteran pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes as he blinked from under a thick line of dark lashes. Stiles tilted his head to the side, the pad of his thumb rubbing across Derek's bottom lip, "what the fuck was that...?"

Green eyes finally moved to Stiles and he swallowed, "I don't know."

Stiles should have been expecting an answer like that, should've stopped himself before he rolled his eyes and his mouth went slack through a sigh, "Seriously? You just-" Stiles sat up, knees on either side of Derek's waist as he looked down, hand raising to run through his hair, "you're not going to acknowledge that we just-" Stiles waved his hands between the two of them and Derek's eyes rolled towards the cieling.

"I acknowledge exactly what just happened," Derek murmured, gaze crawling from the soft shadowed definition of Stiles' stomach to the edge of his clavicles.

Stiles huffed as his cheeks darkened but Derek just watched him, an eyebrow quirked playfully, "I also acknowledge that I am the prettiest pilot-"

"Are you serious-" Stiles interrupted him with a loud groan, pushing the alphas face with the palm of his hand before he stumbled to his feet and snatched his shirt off the ground. Derek had his arm thrown over his eyes and nose to cover his laughter, "Really, Derek? Really?"

Derek simply nodded, snorting, "Yes, really," his voice was choked by a chuckle and he smirked at Stiles from the floor, a part of him hoping that his co-pilot would walk out of his room, another part hoping that he would crawl back onto the carpet with him. Stiles glanced around, babbling angrily about how ridiculous Derek was before he found his glasses underneath the dresser and set them on the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not annoying, by the way," Stiles slid his shirt on, glaring at Derek as the alpha stood and walked towards the bathroom, nodding, "Yes, you are."

Stiles' face burned, his hands trembled and his head was now pounding as the adrenaline from whatever-the-hell had just happened started to dissipate. He stared at Derek for a moment, found his eyes and kept his gaze there, "You're not allowed to act like this didn't happen."

Derek's eyes narrowed and he said nothing, simply looked back at Stiles and shook his head.

"Oh my god, Derek, use your words!" Stiles held his arms out, heaving in breath after breath, only to be acknowledged by the bare flesh of Derek's back, decorated with the spiral of a tattoo and the sound of water running when Hale turned on the shower.

Stiles bit down on his bottom lip as his chest continued to tighten and he grumbled something that Derek didn't catch, closing the door behind him as he walked out and paced down the hall, pausing next to the couch when he noticed that Isaac and Lydia were gone.

"I'm pretty sure that's Derek's room," Erica's voice sounded tiredly from the ground and Stiles tried to keep a smile from leaking onto his face as he glanced down. Blonde hair was splayed messily around her face and she had her hand resting on Boyd's chest, drawing small circles across his abdomen.

Stiles rolled his eyes and shrugged, shaking his head back and forth, "Yes," he mumbled, "That's Derek's room."

"You slept in Derek's room?" the blonde yawned before a grin curled at the the sides of her mouth and she arched a brow dangerously high.

Stiles tensed, lips pursed into a thin line, "Yeah," he bit down on the inside of his cheek and kept his eyes fixed on the woman. She watched him carefully, tilting her head to the side and nodded to him, as if she was asking him something without specifically asking, nudging him along with a flick of her brows.

The beta couldn't help but roll his eyes as the smile he had tried to hide surfaced when he shook his head but her laugh told him that she knew exactly what had gone on this morning.

"Don't you guys have somewhere to be?" Stiles called over his shoulder as he disappeared into his room.

He leaned against the door as he closed it, exhaling a deep breath when his eyes searched the floor for some kind of answer. Any kind of answer.

Deep honey eyes lidded and he ran his fingers through his hair, moving his gaze to the ceiling as he rolled his bottom lip between his teeth again and again, "What the fuck just happened..."

Down the hall, gritting his teeth as freezing water stung at his shoulders and dripped down his back, Derek stood in the shower, eyes closed and breath shallow.

"What the fuck did I just do..."

* * *

The next couple weeks were filled with awkward glances and hardly any words. Sometimes when Derek would cook he would poke Stiles playfully in the stomach and other times when Stiles was doing yoga in the mornings, Derek would watch him shyly from the kitchen and Stiles would pretend he didn't notice. It was an on-going lack of communication. A day to day skirting of the subject.

They trained every day but Raleigh had them off of simulation due to the upcoming breach. Their minds needed to be fresh and ready for the Jaeger when the time came for them to rush the field. The thought of it made Stiles' stomach flip, made his insides scream and as much as he wanted to be strong, to be ready. He wasn't. He felt completely unprepared, weak, vulnerable and as encouraging as his quiet co-pilot tried to be, it didn't help. Especially seeing as every time Derek opened his mouth around Stiles, all the co-pilot could think about was that morning. The morning when Stiles should have been smart enough to push Derek off of him. The morning when Derek should have known better than to give in to an emotion that would only compromise them during drift.

They both knew it. They both understood it. But it didn't change Stiles' agitation and it didn't suddenly convince Derek to talk about it.

"Hey," Derek's voice was soft, as usual, and his fingertips brushed along Stiles' lower back as he squeezed by to open the fridge in the kitchen, reaching in to grab a beer. He held one out to Stiles but his co-pilot shook his head. Derek sighed, "Come on," he nudged Stiles hand with the top of the bottle, "tomorrow..." his voice faded but he swallowed, "it's going to be fine."

The molten color of Stiles eyes always made Derek forget to breathe and as they rose to meet his gaze, he stared, fixated on the golden flecks riddled around the betas pupil.

Stiles took the bottle, mumbling a thanks before he looked down, "Is it? Is it going to be fine?"

The words took Derek by surprise, but he nodded, tilting his head to the side as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip, "Yeah, it is."

The younger pilot analyzed him, eyes razor-sharp and completely guarded as he looked to Derek. Stiles wore his worry like scars on his face and tried to conceal his nerves by tapping his trembling fingers against the bottle. He saw it all. He saw how Stiles looked away, hid his anxiety behind an expressionless face and curled within himself.

It was hard to imagine that any time after midnight it could happen. Their phones could ring. The sirens could sound. It could happen. It would happen.

Derek watched Stiles' face, saw him bite down on his lip and saw him flex his hand around the bottle to keep it from shaking. His eyes softened, mouth parted when he took in a breath, "Stiles-"

"Don't," his words were sharp and he put a hand on Derek's chest when the alpha tried to step forward. Gangly fingers curled against the fabric of his shirt, "I know, okay? We're gonna be fine. We're gonna kick ass." He feigned a smile through the last few words which made Derek visibly relax.

"You should try and get some sleep," Derek looked to the numbers shining white on the microwave, "It's late."

It was ten o'clock and Stiles knew he was right. They both needed to sleep, to try and relax. It was an ambitious idea.

Stiles nodded anyways, retracting his hand from Derek's chest before he turned and walked towards his room, desperate to control his emotions, to control anything at all at this point.

He paced, texted Danny, called his Dad, stared at himself in the mirror until he realized he hardly recognized the man looking back. Strong features shadowed by an expression wrecked with doubt, hard, toned body that was still stretched to fit his lean stature. Dark hair was spiked messily this way and that on his head, he raised his hands, still the same, long knobby fingers he'd had since his sophomore year of high school.

The same but different. Familiar but foreign. Young but worn.

Strong but unprepared.

Completely human.

It was twelve twenty-three when the programmed alarm on the clock next to his bed rang out and he glanced at it, reading the words that flashed across the screen.

**Category: 4 - Kaminari hyō**

**Pilots Report To Drivesuit Room Immediately**

**Prepare For Departure**

Stiles couldn't breathe, he couldn't talk, he couldn't do anything except stand and sway in the middle of his room. When he finally did convince himself to breath he inhaled through his nose, exhaled through his mouth and closed his eyes. He wasn't expecting it to be so soon, he wasn't expecting it to be now. His mind screamed, body shook, legs grew weak, but he planted his feet and inhaled again through his nose, out through his mouth.

He threw on a shirt, looked at himself again in the mirror and nodded.

You aren't a coward

The beta said it again and again to himself as the adrenaline continued to make its way deep into his bones, quieting the pleas from everything else inside him to crawl under his covers and pretend to be dead.

Derek didn't knock before he opened Stiles' door and his emerald eyes blinked up to his co-pilot who turned, facing him through a wrecked breath, "I guess we should get out of here."

The alpha nodded before he looked down to something, tossing it to Stiles who stumbled to catch it. The jacket was dark brown leather and he turned it over in his hands, eyes trailing across the emblem on the back. A lion, it's mouth open wide in a dangerous snarl with a grenade set on its tongue, the words Lionheart in red stitched above it. Stiles smirked and arched a brow, "We match." Derek nodded through a half-smile and turned to walk with Stiles out the door and towards the hangar.

They didn't speak. They didn't look at each other. They just went through the motions. Walked across the polished floor where eyes trailed across them, chins raised, shoulders squared, footsteps in time and kept up the facade that they were fearless.

It wasn't until Stiles saw Erica standing with Allison, Boyd, and Scott outside the doors of the Drivesuit Room that he felt his eyes sting and his chest once again begin to burn. He gathered himself in the last few steps, hugging Erica tight and wrapping his arms around Allison when she nuzzled her head into his chest. Scott slung an arm around Derek who was busy glancing around, eyes searching for someone imparticular. Boyd slapped his hand on Stiles' back and leaned forward, "If you need us, you call. You hear me? I don't care what Raleigh or the Marshalls say, we'll suit up, we'll be there."

Stiles swallowed and tried to nod, "I know."

Boyd offered a smile but Erica pulled Stiles' face with her hand, glaring at him from under her lashes, "It's okay," her words were soft and she leaned forward to press her face in the crook of his neck, "Just remember, you're a Jaeger pilot. You're a knight."

Her words sent chills running down his arms and he smiled, shoving her playfully and nodding, "Yeah, yeah..." She smiled, her tongue stuck between her teeth and leaned into Boyd's shoulder as Scott walked up to hug Stiles tightly into his chest.

"We'll see you when you get back," the field specialist's eyebrows flicked and his lips twisted into a fond smile. Stiles stomach felt like it was filled with bats, his mind coiled around the faces of the people in front of him. He engraved each and every one of their features into his mind, from Erica's beautiful blonde curls, to Allison's breath taking smile, Scott's playful bright eyes and Boyd's protective, endearing smirk.

Heels clicked against the floor and Derek almost stumbled as he turned, eyes fixed on Lydia who walked forward with Newt beside her. The red-head hardly looked at Derek, she simply flipped through a few pages on a clip board and hummed quietly before nodding, "Kaminari hyō," her voice was smooth, "that would be 'thunder panther' in Japanese."

Hazel eyes shot sideways to Newt, "As you can see, Newt named this one-"

"That's a bad ass name," he piped, eyeing Lydia as she cleared her throat to continue.

"It's a category four and from the recordings I have here it seems to be pretty large. There's nothing too specific I have to tell you except for that it seems to be feline in nature."

Derek and Stiles nodded through a warm, shaken breath and Derek blinked, fixated on Lydia like she was the only thing in the room. Her bottom lip trembled and it felt like someone had swung a baseball bat into the ranger's lungs.

The red-head hugged Stiles first, brief, with a small smile, before moving on to Derek. She hugged him, but no one understood just how tight, her fingers clawing into his back and her chest shaking. He pressed his nose into the top of her head, closed his eyes. "He'd be proud of you," her voice trembled and it shook him, shook him down to his core.

As the group stepped back and Stiles turned to walk after Derek through the large metal door, he felt a soft hand grip his wrist and pull him back.

Lydia's eyes searched him, her lips parted as she took in a sharp breath, "You take care of him out there." Stiles' eyes stayed on hers, glancing down only once to the dog tags hanging around her neck before he nodded.

Her words were almost too heavy to carry.

The Drivesuit Room was on the top floor of Shatterdome and was the last stop before they were strapped in and set to drift. It was a small room and technicians hurriedly ran around, grabbing the neural registration suits, the black body suits and the outer skeletal armor. The suits were spread out on separate metal tables in front of two designated areas for dressing and un-dressing.

Stiles stood next to Derek as they were wrapped in the strange clothes, black armor clasped tight to their wrists and legs. Metal spines latched onto their backs and Stiles winced when one of the technitians pushed on the top of his chest and the flat of his lower back, locking the mechanism in place. The last thing to be applied was the chest pieces but before they could be ushered off to board to Conn-Pod, Isaac stepped through the door, a clip board in his hands, "Rangers," his voice was sharp and he pulled at Stiles' face, looking him up and down before he turned to Derek.

"You two know the drill, just..." he paused, a small smirk playing across his lips before he gripped Derek's shoulder and patted Stiles on the cheek, "be careful. Avoid Kaiju Blue at all cost; remember that when the Jaeger takes damage you could ultimately be affected."

They nodded and Isaac nodded back, "Get them to Conn-Pod," he glanced over his shoulder to one of the Drivesuit technicians and they flipped a switch on the wall, queuing two large doors to slide open.

The doctor watched them go, saw the slight tremble of Stiles' gloved hands and noticed Derek look over his shoulder, nodding to Isaac once more before the doors shut.

The Conn-Pod was small, metal poles horizontally set from one end to the other. It was circular, dark and private. Stiles' eyes glanced around, from the small control panel set dead-center above the closed window, to the steel grate below his feet. His boots were heavy and as he lifted them into the metal bindings he heard the audible click as they locked into place.

He hadn't looked at Derek yet. He couldn't look at Derek yet.

The Conn-Pod was the cockpit, the helmet so-to-speak of Lionheart and Stiles clenched and unclenched his fists, breathing in and out as evenly as he could before he slid the helmet over his head and finally let his eyes peek over at Derek.

The alpha was looking back at him, forest eyes bright in the dim light, "Stiles," he breathed his name out, eyebrows lifting from behind the confines of his helmet, "are you ready?"

"Yeah," he lied through gritted teeth, flinching as a multitude of lights suddenly sparked to life within the cock-pit. Holograms were spread across the window, Lionheart's stats and her weapons diagram, all lit and bright. Engaged.

A voice came through the speaker above both their heads, "Team Lionheart," the rasp of Raleigh's words made Stiles instantly relax, "We are initiating the drop in twenty seconds, confirm."

"Confirmed."

A moment later Stiles gasped, squeezing his eyes shut as the hydraulics released and Lionheart's large head descended down, rotating into place between the mechs shoulders. The ranger's heart tried to run out of his chest as it beat frantically, anxiety twisting and turning around the adrenaline that had tremors running from his arms to his legs and everywhere in between. Stiles held his breath, kept his eyes shut and reminded himself again and again that if there was any time to be strong, it was then.

He breathed out, the air in his lungs cut into pieces. Raleigh's voice sounded again, "Stiles, Derek, we're initiating the neural bridge in 5..."

Stiles turned, desperate eyes lingering on Derek who nodded slowly, "You focus on me and only me," his voice was clear and firm, "do you hear me, Stiles?"

"4..."

Stiles nodded shallowly as he suppressed the need to hide inside himself, mentally check out. He straightened his back, flinching through a hiss when the large metal cable clicked into place at the base of his neck.

"3..."

"Stiles?" Derek's voice again and Stiles turned, eyes feigning strength as he slid his fingers into the metal slots and gripped, "I hear you, Derek, and I'm here. Only you, only focus on you, I-"

"2..."

Stiles was interrupted by the feminine robotic voice that caused panic to coarse through his veins.

**Left Hemisphere Initiated**

He opened his eyes, faced the static that blurred his vision and put everything he had into trying to relax. The drift was raw, there was no texture, the balance the simulation had allowed was gone and Stiles felt weightless as he clawed against the steel and metal that was Lionheart's insides. He felt her strength, her density, the power that laid dormant, patiently waiting for him and Derek to take hold of her.

Stiles steadied his breathing and listened, craned himself towards the sounds of Derek's voice as he let the rush of memories pass through him.

The familiar taste of ash in his mouth, the smell of pine trees and the trickle of rain down the bridge of his nose. Stiles had started to fall in love with Oregon through Derek, his vivid, beautiful memories that captured the misty nights he spent starring at the moon from the roof of his house, his first kiss was with a girl against an old tall tree on the outskirts of his high school, snowflakes gathering on her eyelashes in winter-

"Stiles," Derek was calm and reached out through the fog.

It was like electricity, like a thousand volts being shoved into his spine that radiated outwards, ending at the tips of his fingers. Stiles gasped, shuddered from the weight of the memory until he dug deeper, crawled into the space where it originated and found soft hands pressed against his face, a talented tongue stroking feverently against his own and then-

Derek

Stiles' voice. His own voice. It jolted him. Stiles' heart thumped evenly and his cheeks heated when he realized that the memory he had chased was a memory they shared. It was backwards and completely foreign to slide himself into Derek's perspective, to feel what he had felt. To truly understand how disassembled the alpha had been that morning. The affect that Stiles had on him.

It was hard to focus, hard not to close his eyes and lean into the fleeting touch, relive it again and again. But Derek's voice broke through, "Stiles," he tested, prodding gently through the memory until he found it, found the heat, the shattered breathing, the pin prick of goose bumps chased by stumbling fingertips. It was just as hard for Derek to convince himself not to stay.

**Right Hemisphere Initiated**

The burn took Derek by surprise and he shut his eyes as Stiles' memories lapped against his heels.

It was difficult to focus with Stiles pressing against a shared memory, something the two of them could feel. It wasn't just tangible for one of them, it was completely palpable for both and the familiarity had the potential to throw them off track.

A warm laugh cooed against his ear and Derek's eyes fluttered as Stiles' mother tapped the tip of his nose, the smell of desert and blistering heat nearly suffocated him but the constriction felt safe, it felt like home. He dipped, turned, waded through the memories until he heard Stiles' breath hitch.

Soft lips, the hum of a surprised voice, a sharp exhale through his nose. Derek couldn't help but close his eyes and he held his breath, enamored by how nervous Stiles had been. How completely oblivious he was to his overabundance of appeal.

"Derek," amber eyes flashed through his vision and the alpha gasped, tearing himself away from the inlet where they both had seemed to be caught. Stiles was the first one out and he took his time to steady his breathing, inhaling through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. It was only moments later that his co-pilot surfaced, blinking out over the digital HUD's before he turned his head and found Stiles looking back at him.

The beta cleared his throat, eyebrows flicking from behind his helmet, "You with me?"

Derek couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, I'm with you."

"You two are at 100 percent, keep it that way and let's get the job done, we have Kaminari about a mile outside the breach," Raleigh's voice invaded the cock-pit and Stiles vibrated with energy as he let himself get re-accustomed not only to Derek, but to Lionheart. He had never felt anything like it before, the spark of energy, the rush of power. He felt invincible.

Stiles drank Derek's confidence, parched for his co-pilot in more ways than one. It had been two weeks since they had drifted and being back inside the alphas head was a feat, but welcoming none the less. He could feel Derek's waves of adrenaline, his urgency to fight and his hunger for retribution.

When the two shot their hands forward, Lionheart moved, her shoulders rolling, arms lifting, fingers curling into tight fists. Stiles audibly gasped, his nerves like a storm raging inside him as Derek chuckled, "You alright over there?"

"Jesus... She's insane, this is incredible-"

"Yeah," Derek's voice was sultry, like fine wine being spilt across Stiles' thoughts, "I almost forgot how amazing this was."

Lionheart's fists were raised, and Stiles could see through the paneled window into the control room where Allison stood, hiding a smile behind her folded hands, Erica and Boyd, arms crossed over their chests, nodding approvingly as Scott waved enthusiastically from next to the Marshalls. Raleigh grinned, an arm slung around Mako who watched them through a careful smile. Lydia was next to them, her lips pursed tight, clipboard gripped to her chest. She nodded once, turning as Isaac laid a hand over her shoulder and gripped. All their eyes were fixed on the Jaeger and their two friends who smiled back at them from behind Lionheart's shielded helmet.

It made Stiles' heart sink as his view of them began to shrink when the large mech was wheeled to the front of the hangar.

The Jaeger was beautiful. Brick red armor was sharp and clean with a chest piece that spiked towards her shoulder blades which rounded down to strong forearms loaded with canons. Her helmet was layered with sheets of steel and her hands were like gauntlets, fierce and threatening. Each Jaeger had characteristics that set them apart from the others, a personality so to speak. Lionheart was medieval and exemplified a savage mastery of speed and force. She looked more menacing than the others, all jagged edges and bite. The mech was originally a Mark-4 design but after K-2 she had undergone modifications and was now classified as Mark-5 and ready for combat.

Large steel cables clasped onto the Jaegers shoulders and within a few moments they were hoisted into the air and on their way towards the breach.

Stiles could feel his heart beat in his throat, his fingertips gripped as tight as they could into the metal panels to his left and right. He knew that somewhere underneath the shared excitement and pooled confidence, Stiles' fear was left to fester. The beta pushed the thought away as he heard Derek sigh, "I'm right here," his words were crisp and Stiles blinked over towards him and nodded, "So, what exactly is the game plan here?"

The alpha scoffed, cracking his neck, "We punch it in the face until it dies."

Stiles' eyebrows flicked and he bit back a small smile, "Good plan, big guy."

* * *

Wide hazel eyes stared at the floor as Lydia tried to steady her breathing. Her chest ached and her fingertips shook, curled protectively around the dog tags set between her collar bones.

A warm hand brushed across the middle of her back and she inhaled sharply, eyes still fixed on the ground, "Lydia... Hey," Isaac's voice was barely above a whisper and he leaned down to press his hand over her clutched fingertips. "They're going to be fine," he tried to find her eyes but they were long gone, she simply gave a short nod and leaned slightly into the doctor's touch, who rubbed her back gently and brushed his thumbs across her strained white knuckles.

It didn't take long for Allison to find them towards the back of the control room and she sighed, glancing over her shoulder at Scott who looked back, eyes downcast, unaware of what he could do to help the situation.

"Hey," Allison's palm found Lydia's cheek and coaxed the red-head to look at her through glassy optics, "It's gonna be okay. Derek's gonna come back."

She saw the tremble in Lydia's bottom lip, the constriction in the woman's throat. It was one thing for Lydia to be shaken up, for her to be emotional, but to see her so obviously torn, it made Allison feel guilt that wasn't even hers to feel.

"You think they'll be okay out there?" Erica looked to Herc Hansen who nodded immediately, smirking over to his prodiges, "I think they'll be more than okay." Boyd nodded to Herc, "I think they will be too, they just have to keep the drift intact."

Herc shrugged his shoulder towards Raleigh who was talking quietly with Mako and staring at the live feed from Lionheart's camera, "That man," the Marshall sighed softly, "He may be a reckless son of a bitch, but Becket knows talent when he sees it." Soft wrinkles crinkled at the corner of Herc's eyes and he bumped his shoulder into Boyd, "Just like I do."

Erica's smile was light and she leaned into Herc who slung an arm around her shoulder and rubbed the pad of his thumb across her arm.

"Hey," Raleigh's rough voice broke the quiet nervousness in the control room before he walked forward and flipped a switch next to the microphone, "Lionheart, destination reached. Confirm."

* * *

"Confirmed."

Stiles' voice was even, more even than he had expected it to be but still accompanied by a run away heart beat and a cluster of vibrating nerves deep in his chest.

It was real. Everything. Everything that he had prepared for, everything he had trained for, what he was chosen for, it was all coming to a head. It was all for a moment, that moment, as the cables were drawn and they stabilized against the ocean floor. The moment when he head Derek's voice shake and felt his primal need to crush whatever mayhem had surfaced on their planet.

Their planet.

This was their planet.

Derek sucked air in through his nose, "Titan Omega, do you copy?"

The blocky Jaeger across from them dropped into the waves and crashed its fists together, the sound of two thick accents invading the Conn-Pod, "Do you purr, lion?" Derek rolled his eyes and Stiles snorted a laugh as he shook his head, "Come on, kitty kitty, let's kill this fucker."

As much as Stiles hated they're casual approach when it came to killing Kaiju, the twins cocky nature eased his erratic nerves. Amber eyes scraped across the ocean, watched the small waves rise and fall against the giant metal beasts. He could feel Derek's heartbeat, followed his impulse to look left, right and back again. Stiles had no problem letting his co-pilot take the lead, it only left him with slack to remind himself to breathe.

It was sudden, the thought. The memory of the day back at Brown. The girl who had screamed in the hall way. The heart wrenching, ear splitting, haunting scream that had plauged his dreams night after night. K-2. Her hunched back, hands digging into her own scalp like they were trying to pierce through bone. Wrecked. Not even close to salvageable. Broken.

"Stiles!" Derek was firm and he stabbed at the betas thoughts, "Don't- not now. Stay here. Stay with me!"

The beta snapped back, heaving shaky breaths before he reached out and gripped, gripped onto Derek's thoughts like they were the only thing he had to hold onto.

Derek gripped right back and the subtle curl of his co-pilot's consciousness coaxed a gentle sigh to slip between Stiles' lips. Just enough to let his eyes close for a moment, enough to allow him the comfort of silence, the safety of thinking that maybe none of this was real. Maybe Stiles would wake up and he would be in his bed, in their apartment, and he would have another day to train. Another day to think, to hope, to pray that maybe life could be simple. Maybe they could think just of the present rather than the count down on the clock.

Maybe things would slow down enough for them to get a good look at each other for once. The world might come to a halt for just a few minutes, enough time that he could replay the way Derek's lips curve up when he smiled, the way his fingers tapped against the cover of his book when he flipped the page, small things that happened too fast. Everything happened too fast.

But nothing happened faster than Kaminari.

A blur. Dark scales surrounded by the sound of the ocean breaking, a howl that made his rib cage crack and fold in on itself, it all happened so fast.

Stiles didn't realized he had his right arm raised until he gasped and opened his eyes, blinking out the window of Lionheart's helmet into the gaze of something far beyond any simulation at Shatterdome. The Kaiju bit down on the mech's forearm, sharp feline teeth gnawing through high-pitched chirping growls. Its narrow head was long and lean, horns curling up from behind two rows of glowing blue eyes.

The beta couldn't feel his fear behind the overwhelming urge to quite literally smash the beast currently latched onto their arm. His teeth gritted, he felt Derek's rage swell, and followed it into the swing of their free arm and bit back a curse as they struck the Kaiju below its throat.

The creature made noises that Stiles could hardly categorize, growls, chirps, purrs, screams, vibrations that sounded like a mixed tape of overlapped cries from animals across the globe. Kaminari crumbled back under the waves before a long spiked tail whipped out and wrapped around Lionheart's helmet, giving a rough pull until the Jaeger was stumbling into the water.

"Fuck-" Derek's voice cut out through the Conn-Pod and Stiles winced when he felt a sudden shock of pain in his shoulder, "Release the coolants!"

Stiles reached to his left and flipped a switch, inhaling and exhaling in short exasperated breaths.

"You're like a cat stuck in a bath tub."

"Shut the fuck up, Aiden!" Stiles growled through the press of his teeth as they reached forward and gripped the Kaiju's tail, "Plasma canon loaded, releasing in 3... 2..."

It was a rush of adrenaline, a flutter of nerves at the base of his spine when the canon fired. The sound it made was deafening and the sound Kaminari made when it connected with the bottom of the Kaiju's scaled back sent shivers climbing into Stiles' stomach. Derek's breathy laugh was the only thing that brought the beta back into the present, "Pulling out the big guns already, Stiles?"

"You're in my head, Hale, don't act like it was a surprise," Stiles scoffed as they took a step back, straightening Lionheart's metal spine against the waves that brushed across their knees, locked in place.

Titan Omega was running forward, propelling themselves into the air with both fists raised before they slammed down onto Kaminari, crunching down on the beast's torso.

Amber eyes scrunched as Stiles winced, listening to the sound of cracking bones and the rising volume of the Kaiju's voice as it was crushed back under the waves. Stiles felt Derek more than he felt himself, felt his desperation, felt the thirst for revenge thick on his tongue and Derek felt Stiles more than he felt anything else, the boil of allure, the shameful curiosity and fearful thrill, a witches brew of emotions that threw them forward, "Mortar guns locked on," Derek's voice was strong and Stiles smirked softly, "Detination in 3...2..."

Titan Omega rose from the waves next to them as the two large field guns rose over Lionheart's shoulders, "...1."

They fired and Stiles held his breath as the missiles tore through the exposed chest of Kaminari when the Kaiju attempted to fling itself, all four clawed feet, in their direction. It was mesmerizing, the heat that instantly cauterized the flesh, the way its body twitched and convulsed in the air, eyes widening with surprise as it tumbled back below the waves.

The alpha's heart beat fluttered and Stiles' chest burned as they stared at the water, watched for any sign of life, any movement, any flick of water that seemed out of place. But there was nothing. Nothing except Derek's breathing and Stiles' trembling hands. Nothing except the static of the over-head in the Conn-Pod and the clank of metal against metal as Titan Omega's fists clashed again and again.

It felt like years of silenced passed between them until Stiles let himself unfurl and a grin pass across his face, amber eyes lidding shut.

"Target eliminated. Welcome to the club, Lionheart," Raleigh's voice felt like a summer breeze and Stiles laughed softly when a flood of warmth passed across his thoughts. He turned his gaze to Derek who stared back, heart thudding against his chest as the alpha desperately tried to gather himself, tried to keep a hold of all the adrenaline, the excitement, the memories that threatened to spill into the drift.

They had made it. They had done it. They were alive.

"Stiles," Derek's voice was as close to a whisper as it could have possibly been.

"Derek," Stiles breathed his name and it tasted like chocolate and coffee and sweet, bitter, renewal.

They looked at each other, braced inside Lionheart, and Stiles tried not to think about what was going to happen next.

It was real now. They were pilots. A team.

And this was only the first fight.

It was overwhelming.

* * *

Stiles' thoughts were still wrapped in the metal heart buried inside Lionheart's chest piece and as Erica ran to him, arms pulling him tight to her torso, he could hardly hug her back. His body was still shaking, mind still adjusting to the absence of his co-pilot, subconscious still pacing around like a rabid animal towards the back of his skull.

The adrenaline hadn't varied. The face of Kamanari hadn't left. The pump of blood like hooves running up and down his ribs hadn't calmed.

Even so, he breathed her in. He breathed them all in. Allison's soft cherry perfume, Scott's exuberant voice, Lydia's gentle 'thank you'.

The beta barely heard any of it. Barely felt any of it. He was there, a smile, a breathy laugh, a glance to each of them from behind his glasses, but at the same time he was gone.

"Oh my god, you're still shaking," Allison's eyes were glassy and she held onto Stiles' hands as they trembled, "You need to eat something and relax. Both of you," deep brown eyes shot to Derek who was just as equally overloaded as Stiles.

"Y-yeah," Stiles tried to talk but his words were like acid in his mouth, burning holes in the fabrication of every sentence, eating away at any coherent thought he had.

They stood on the floor of the hangar, Derek next to Boyd who nodded when the alpha told him it went more smoothly than he had anticipated. Stiles knew that it had been easy, knew it had been sheer luck that they weren't dead. He knew that the next time they were in Lionheart they might not come back. He would remind himself of that every day, just like he reminded himself every night that he may not wake up in the morning.

It was a constant flow of push and pull, reality and fantasy.

Human and alien.

Jaeger and Kaiju.

Stiles bit down on his bottom lip, ran his fingers up through the messy locks of his hair and stared at Derek who blinked back over Lydia's shoulder as the woman smiled up at him. She looked relieved. They all looked relieved.

"Oh-ho! Look at the little lions!" Ethan slung his arm around Stiles' shoulder and pulled him roughly, "Next time we fight we'll take you to pride rock-"

"Look, Simba!" Aiden gestured to the group with an exaggerated wave of his arm, "Look at your pride!"

The Titan twins laughed like they were in middle school and Stiles couldn't help but laugh back, shoving the German pilot playfully before Derek nudged Aiden and reached out to grip his shoulder, "You guys were good out there." The alpha was sincere and he arched a brow when the two huffed and wore matching grins, "You too, kitties. We're honored to fight with you, any day, any night."

As cocky and immature as they were, Stiles appreciated the praise and nodded, still unable to properly form words.

Isaac was in front of him before he could protest, a warm hand splayed over his chest. The doctors brows furrowed when he felt the jackhammer of Stiles' heartbeat, "I can get you something," his words were soft, "something to calm-"

"I'll be okay," Stiles cut him off without warning before he took a step back and fidgeted with the pocket of his leather jacket, "I'm just... I'm gonna go chill- or eat, or... I don't know." The ranger tried to breathe again but the oxygen got lost somewhere and his lungs tightened, throat closed. It was too much, much too much, and Stiles could hardly comprehend the rushed words surrounding him, the congratulations, the happiness, the excitement.

He looked to Derek again and his co-pilot nodded, gesturing with a raise of his chin and the flare of his nostrils. Breathe in. Stiles followed. Derek's lips parted and Stiles' did as well. Exhale.

Derek didn't look away when he opened his mouth to speak and Stiles hardly caught his voice when he said, "We need to eat and pack for Vegas-"

"So do we," Boyd looked to Erica who nodded, Ethan and Aiden also nodded.

"Okay, so I'll call you guys," Derek's eyes flicked to Allison, Scott, Lydia and Isaac who nodded, offering smiles to Stiles who was already sneaking away towards the back door of the hangar.

He didn't say goodbye, he simply waved, shooting something of a smile over his shoulder to his friends who were more than understanding of the situation. They watched him go, watched him pace away, turning quickly into the darkness of the early morning.

Long nimble fingers shook violently as he stood in front of their door and tried to get fit the key into the lock. "Fuck..." Stiles voice was a soft whimper and he bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, his thoughts were rolling like thunder across his mind, memories striking down against his nerves like lightening. It was too much. The drift. The fight. The adrenaline. The power-

"Hey," Derek's voice was sharp, but his hand was gentle as he batted Stiles away when he leaned down to unlock the door, "It's okay, I-"

"No, no- this is-" Stiles practically ran into the apartment, turning to face Derek as he paced next to the breakfast bar, "I don't know how to-" The ranger inhaled a cracked breath before he reached up to take his glasses off, setting them down on the counter top and fidgeting to chase them when they almost fell off the edge.

"It's still," Stiles gestured to down to himself, "I can still feel it, all of it."

Derek nodded and Stiles breathed out a sigh of relief when he realized that his co-pilot knew exactly what he was talking about.

The apartment was silent and dark as the air conditioner hummed against the absense of sound. Stiles could hear Derek breathing, could feel his hand brush across top of his shoulder, "Stiles, it's okay." The beta even heard the edge in his voice, the control, and he turned on his heels to face him, amber eyes glaring at Derek like he was the only thing left.

Derek was the only thing left.

His words were exhausted before they even left his mouth, "No, Derek, it's not okay," his voice weathered and Stiles looked away, "You can't- you can't just-" he bit down on his lip, eyes flicking around the alphas face before he finally gave in and gripped at the man's jacket.

Stiles cursed before he pulled Derek forward and collided with his lips. He didn't expect the ranger to respond, but he did, with demanding, desperate force. Teeth clanked as lips slid together in a messy attempt to devour each other, find the cracks, the breaks, the fractures and melt them all back into functional shape. Anything. Stiles needed anything. And Derek was more than that. He was the only thing.

A heavy breath was pushed from between Derek's lips when his back hit the wall and he succumbed as Stiles pawed carelessly at his jacket, letting it fall in a heap by their feet. He wanted to talk, to say something, to explain why this wasn't even remotely close to a good idea, but he wound his fingers into Stiles' hair instead and pulled, forcing the beta to gasp when he sank his teeth into the base of his neck.

It was hard to think, to remember anything except for the wet warmth of Derek's tongue on his throat, or the way the veteran already had his free hand pushed under his shirt, gripping onto his torso like Stiles would crumble if he let him go.

"Der," Stiles swallowed a breath, flinching when his co-pilot pulled at him roughly, angling his head where he wanted it, "D-der, hold, hold on- we," his words were swallowed by Derek's mouth and his voice rumbled dangerously between their lips, sending chills down Stiles' spine that refused to quit. It was hard and bruising and rushed and exactly what Stiles needed but didn't want.

His mind may have been on overdrive, his heart beat erratic, but he yearned to memorize Derek. He wanted to tear him apart inch by inch and sew him back together. He wanted to take his time and unravel him, pick and pull and press and feel until he was sure he knew, until he was positive he had seen.

Stiles didn't want another war with the clock.

The only thing he could think to do was move his hands, press them to Derek's jaw and rub his thumbs across the rough stubble of the man's cheeks. He wanted the heat. Craved it. Was a complete wreck for it, but he knew, Stiles knew, that he wanted to know Derek more. Wanted to capture him like a polaroid and keep him stashed away in his memories.

Because only god knew when they would do this again.

And Stiles didn't believe in god.

"What?" Derek snapped his teeth together before he untangled his fingers from Stiles hair and dropped his hands to his side. The alpha's face was blotched red, pupils dark and wide as he stared at Stiles, worry, wonder, want, all of it, even a bit of denial leaking through into the air between them.

Stiles did nothing but watch him. He watched him try to catch his breath and felt along his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, flicked his eyes to the strong chest that heaved in breath after breath. A month ago Stiles would have flinched at Derek's tone, at his anger, but now there was a part of him that understood and knew that underneath the alpha's heaving chest was a heart that had been beating just as fast as his own, and behind that pair of jungle eyes was a five-car-pile-up of thoughts that he couldn't digest. Stiles knew that Derek was just as thirsty for an escape as he was.

Amber eyes collected the scars on Derek's face, studied the throb in his throat when the man swallowed and inhaled the warm puffs of air he was breathing against Stiles' mouth.

It was hard to categorize his feelings, to establish any kind of solid emotion with how many of them were rising and falling, licking across the shores of his mind like the tide. It was back and forth, the want to dig his fingertips into Derek, pull him down against the tile floor and the desire to map him out slowly, thoughtfully.

Derek wasn't shy about his impatience and Stiles arched a brow, "We have time," the beta's words were like cashmere but his co-pilot was anything but appreciative. It was the first time Stiles noticed his shaking hands or the tremors in Derek's knees and as much as he wanted to be able to say he was completely in control of his own energy, he wasn't. Not in the slightest.

They stayed like that, eyes glued to each other, Stiles hands gripping Derek's face until calloused fingertips finally inched forward to touch the beta again. Derek was trembling as his hands rested under the rangers shirt, pressing up along the soft skin. It was slow and it caused the ache in Stiles' stomach to swell until he finally gave in and leaned forward, rolling his hips into Derek who gripped harder, eyes squeezing shut, "This isn't a good idea."

Stiles blinked, "...what?"

"This," Derek's hands tightened, mouth brushing carefully against Stiles' as he spoke, "this could potentially get us killed."

Stiles' heart was beating like a drum in his chest and he swallowed, unable to suppress the breath that was pushed out of him when Derek let his hands fall, hooking his thumbs under the waist band of the beta's jeans, "Does that bother you?"

He hadn't expected to sound as confident as he did, and Derek's brow rose as a smile teased at the edge of his lips, "Marginally."

Stiles' laugh was stifled when Derek pressed his mouth against the beta's, all fight and no rythym. They were clumsy, stumbling down the hall towards Stiles' room, pausing every couple feet to push one another against the wall. Stiles' jacket and shirt were discarded somewhere along the way, and Derek's shirt got caught on his shoulder, earning a growl from the alpha and a small smirk from the beta who finally threw it to the ground, "Aren't you highly trained in patience, can't you-" Stiles lost his words when Derek bumped the door of his room open with his hip and tugged him into the darkness.

It was as if they were still lost somewhere inside the steel panels between Lionheart's shoulder blades, twisting and winding through the gears and circuitry. Derek's back fell into the red comforter and Stiles hands landed on either side of his arms as he slid his abdomen against the alpha, the quiet rumble of a growl leaking from the young pilot as he captured Derek in an open-mouthed, needy kiss. It was apparent that Derek didn't like to admit that he was more than pleased with Stiles exerting his strength, and he blushed furiously, skating a hand down Stiles back when he leaned down and buried himself behind Derek's ear.

Derek bit down on his lip when his co-pilot hummed, lips trailing across the curve of his throat to the dip below his shoulder. Stiles' mouth was warm and felt like feathers against the tough, scarred skin that Derek was quite ashamed of. He hated every single reminder, every niche, every circular burned scar that littered his chest. He didn't want to go there; he didn't want to think of Jackson or of the Kaiju blue that hit his flesh when the canon misfired, he needed to stay here, in this moment. He needed to stay.

Stiles' teeth grazed across his side, teeth sinking painfully into Derek's ribs until he heard a strangled whine and felt the alpha arch off the bed. Honey eyes flicked up and Stiles' brow rose playfully. Derek glared at the ceiling, cheeks heated before he grumbled 'shut up' and pursed his lips into a thin line. It wasn't hard to embarrass, Derek, Stiles had figured that out early on in their relationship, but he had never expected him to be bashful. Stiles gripped his waist and bit down again, harder, dragging blunt teeth across his ribcage until he could hear Derek try to hold his breath, "Fu-" the curse was pierced with a wrecked moan that Stiles could hardly handle.

To have the opportunity to watch Derek unfurl beneath his hands obliterated his self-control.

"You're always quiet, stop being quiet," Stiles hissed breathlessly, tugging at his jeans until he could get his mouth on the sharp bone of Derek's hip. The ranger gasped when Stiles' teeth pulled across his abdomen and green eyes squeezed shut.

Before he could even get his hands on Derek's belt, Stiles was hauled up by his arms and shoved down against the mattress, "Don't tell me what to do," Derek's voice was sharp against the beta's parted lips. He nudged at the soft skin on his co-pilots throat, rubbed his stubbled cheek against the flesh until the ranger beneath him squirmed. Amber eyes closed and Stiles said nothing, simply enjoyed the way Derek made his blood boil whenever he laid his hands on him, reveled in Hale's lingering breaths against the base of his throat and tried not to buck his hips when the alpha pressed his knee between his thighs.

Derek wasn't careful or precise. He was like an out of control forest fire, burning and hungry to mangle anything in his path. Stiles couldn't breathe when Derek slid a hand underneath him and pressed on to his lower back, beckoning his hips to rise into an eager pair of lips that mouthed at the button of Stiles' jeans. His temperature had spiked, light caramel eyes lidded until Derek finally popped his pants open, enticing a soft laugh from Stiles, "Where the fuck did you learn how to do that?"

"High school summer camp," Derek's voice was mumbled against the all-too soft skin of a lean stomach before he glanced up through a crooked smile, enamored by the sight of Stiles with his arm thrown over his face and his eyes shut. The bed dipped next to Stiles' shoulders and he kept his eyes closed when he felt Derek's breath fall shallowly across his mouth. Rough fingers walked their way up the inside of Stiles arm, tickling across the faint groups of freckles that lived there until he found his palm and laced his hand through the gaps between his co-pilots bony fingers.

The room was dark but when Stiles opened his eyes he found the outline of Derek's nose, the swell of his bottom lip and the flutter of his eyelashes. It was hard to bite his tongue, hold back the praise that threatened to fall from his throat. The beta wanted more than anything to tell Derek how beautiful he was, to describe in detail exactly what he looked like, press pause, rewind, find elaborate pieces of poetry to throw at him and to make Derek understand that even in the dark he was blinding.

Stiles' was stills shaking, heart occupied in keeping up with his speedy thoughts. He swallowed down the anxiety, "Viens ici," his voice was a whisper and he gripped onto Derek's hand as the alpha laid his weight down, hips grinding into Stiles hard enough to pull a broken gasp from the nervous wreck underneath him. "I said come here," Stiles tried to be gentle but when Derek rocked his hips forward the only thing he could focus on was how completely clothed they still were and how ridiculous that was.

The crash of lips, slick slide of Stiles' tongue, Derek's unruly movements, the burn below his rib cage, quiet whimpers that caused them both to flush.

Stiles growled, "Okay," he spoke between Derek's lips, pressing and pulling until he untangled his fingers that were pinned above his head and reached down to fumble with the alpha's belt. Derek bit down on his throat, stilling his hands for a moment until his mouth busied itself with Stiles' lips again, allowing him to stumble along at his waist.

It didn't take long for Stiles to get frustrated, for him to blush and curse and twist underneath Derek until he finally huffed, pulling away, "Are you wearing a fucking chastity belt, like how do you get this thing off, I can't-" Stiles hissed, continuing to pull at the leather strung through the belt loops on Derek's jeans.

Derek barked a laugh against his lips which made Stiles turn his face away and spit curses at him, thoroughly horrified at his lack of sexual allure. The alpha sat up with his legs on either side of the ranger beneath him. He didn't want to stare as his co-pilot easily pulled his belt off and tossed it away, but he did, amber eyes drank in the pointed curve of Derek's hip to the pale shadows lingering over the curved muscle in his abdomen. He watched his shoulders rise and fall with each inhale and exhale, studied the twitch in his lip when he smiled. Derek couldn't even comprehend the power in that smile and Stiles believed with all his might that the soft curve of those lips could conquer just about anything.

When Derek fell back against Stiles he pressed down, bare skin melding together as their lips met in another desperate kiss. Stiles' tilted his head, hand moving to tangle in Derek's hair as he twisted, mismatched socks pushing at the man's stubborn jeans. His heart jumped painfully at the sudden intrusion of the alphas palm, sliding down his stomach, leaving a scorching path in its wake until the tips of his finger slipped just beneath the soft grey denim of Stiles' jeans. The beta lifted, a small sound breaking over the pillow of his tongue, encouraging, pleading for him to continue.

Swollen lips spread against the ranger's cheek and Derek opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the rap of knuckles against the front door.

Derek's eyes flew open. Stiles' stared up at him, wide and unblinking.

They froze, held their breath until the knocking sounded again. Derek's eyes were apologetic and Stiles shook his head, "Derek, don't you dare- do not," his words were rushed and he snapped his teeth when the alpha sat up, "If you get out of this bed I'll fill your shower with Kaiju ticks, I'm not even kidding right now, I-"

Green eyes rolled and Derek sighed as he stepped onto the carpet, listening to Stiles' curse at him in a foreign language as he walked towards the living room.

Stiles didn't move. He didn't breathe until his body reminded him to and he bit down on his bottom lip as hard as he could. Echoes of Derek still bounced across his body, melted into his flesh, left him blotched and flushed on top of the comforter in his room. Amber eyes glanced over at the clock.

7:02 a.m

Fingers ran up through his hair and he dug blunt nails into the base of his skull. What the fuck. His thoughts were chewed up again, jumbled and cycloned between Derek's mouth and the fact that the Kaiju looked surprised when it died, from hot breath against his chest to shaking devastation in the drift. He had escaped it for a moment but as soon as he had a chance to think again, it all came rushing back.

Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth.

The beta sat up and looked down at himself, arching a brow when he saw the soft blossom of bruising on his waist. Nerves fluttered over his bones, stole the breath from him when he blinked again and again. Derek did that. Derek Hale. His co-pilot.

"Fuck..." he buried his head in his hands and wondered briefly whether or not this was something he would regret.

Derek unlocked the door and cracked it open, peeking his head around the edge only for it to be shoved open by Erica who heaved an irritated sigh, "Fucking finally, Jesus, I've been standing... out..." her eyes trailed from Derek's bare chest to the jacket next to the wall and then to the shoes kicked lazily in the hallway across from an inside out shirt, "...here..."

"No," Derek's voice was sharp and he pressed a hand to her lower back, pushing her towards the door. His cheeks were tinted and the blonde twisted against his arm, a grin spread across the pilots face, "You..." she poked a finger on the ring of indentations on his side where Stiles had bit, "...are in so much trouble."

"Leave," the alpha hissed, pushing her again but Erica was quick and squirmed away, her heeled boots clicking against the tile as she bounded down the hall.

Her laugh was loud in the quiet house and she kicked Derek's shirt out of the way before crashing through the doors. Stiles' head snapped forward and he inhaled sharply, lips falling open when he saw the beaming white of Erica's grin. He didn't know what to do, whether he should laugh or yell or deny everything up and down until he was red in the face, but all he could do was stare like a deer into headlights.

Erica hummed, "I knew it!" She pointed her index finger at Stiles who rolled his eyes and tried to stop himself from smiling.

Broad shoulders loomed behind her and Derek grabbed her wrist, swiftly pulling her back towards the kitchen.

"Oh, would you calm down! I didn't come here to," she waved her hand at the mess in the hallway, "interrupt! I came here to one, check on him," she pointed again at Stiles who had his eyes closed, desperately wishing he could disappear, "and two, to tell you guys that we have a briefing with the Marshalls at one and we have a plane to catch at five, so pack and get ready."

"Erica," Derek's voice was soft before he hauled her towards the door. He blinked at her and she blinked back through an arched brow. He tilted his chin down and breathed out a shaky sigh.

"Stop, Hale," her voice was a whisper and she pressed her hand to his shoulder, "We'll talk later." Her eyes darted over his shoulder as Stiles slowly made an appearance, lips softly parted as he looked to Erica and tried to smile. She smirked, "Nice," she tapped the side of her neck and gestured to Stiles who slapped his palm over his throat, covering the purple circle below his ear, lips drawn into a thin line.

Derek's eyes rolled towards the ceiling and he pushed her towards the door, "See you at one," his voice was a growl and all he got in return was her laughter before he slammed the door and locked it once again.

Stiles didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say or if he should say anything at all. The only thing he knew was that Derek was watching him carefully, eyes darting around his face until he was walking forward and Stiles couldn't help but look at the ground. He hated the unknown, the chance that Derek might tell him that it was a mistake, heat of the moment, a way to cope or even worse that he would be graced with silence.

But Derek did neither, he simply picked up Stiles glasses from where they were sat on the breakfast bar and placed them gingerly on the bridge of his nose.

"We should get ready," his words were soft, like they always were, and Stiles couldn't help but bite down on his lip.

"No we shouldn't," it was one of the first times he _hadn't _meant to be brave and amber eyes lifted to stare at Derek from under thick dark lashes.

Derek snorted a small laugh; fingertips trailing along Stiles' lower back as he walked passed him, "Go take a shower, Stiles."

Stiles chewed on the inside of his cheek, mulled over the idea of following the alpha into his room and insisting that they shower together, but his mind blurred, eyes turned to look down the hall as Derek closed the door behind him, and quietly reminded himself that this wasn't a good idea.


End file.
